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THE    WESTMINSTER  NEW  TESTAMENT 

GALATIANS    AND    ROMANS 


THE  WESTMINSTER  NEW  TESTAMENT 

General  Editor 
ALFRED  E.  GARVIE,  M.A.(Oxon.),  D.D.(Glas.) 

PRINCIPAL    OF    NEW   COLLEGK,    LONDON 


GALATIANS    AND 

ROMANS  ^ 

^MR   9  1915 

WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 


BY    TUEy^'  -<:^  -.UAL    '^U 

Rev.  W.  DOUGLAS  MACKENZIE 

M.A.(Edin.),  D.D.(Yale  &  Edin.),  LL.D.(Princeton) 

PRESIDENT    OF    HARTFORD   THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY,    U.S.A. 


NEW  YORK 

FLEMING    H.   REVELL   COMPANY 

LONDON 

ANDREW   MELROSE 

19  12 


PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR 

Having  carefully  selected  the  editors  of  the  ten 
volumes  of  which  the  Westminster  New  Testament 
will  consist^  and  having  fully  explained  to  them 
the  purpose  of  the  series,  the  General  Editor  is 
leaving  them  the  greatest  possible  liberty  ;  and  the 
editor  of  each  volume  is  alone  responsible  for  the 
opinions  expressed  in  it.  It  is  hoped  that  thus 
any  lack  of  uniformity  will  be  amply  compensated 
for  by  the  varied  interest  which  the  free  expression 
of  his  own  individuality  by  each  editor  will  impart 
to  the  series.  While  the  standpoint  adopted  is 
that  of  modern  critical  scholarship,  only  the 
generally  accepted  results,  and  not  the  vagaries  of 
individual  critics,  are  being  presented,  and  in  such 
a  fashion  as  to  avoid  unnecessarily  giving  any 
offence  or  causing  any  difficulty  to  the  reverent 
Bible  student.  As  the  series  is  intended  especially 
for  teachers,  lay  preachers,  and  others  engaged 
in  Christian  work,  their  needs  are  being  kept 
particularly  in  view,  and  the  Commentary  aims  at 
being  as  practically  useful  as  possible.  A  new 
arrangement  in  printing  the  text  and  the  notes 
has  been  adopted,  which  it  is  believed  will  be  found 
an  improvement. 

A.  E.  GARVIE. 
New  College,  London, 
1912. 


EDITORS  NOTE 

The  Editor  of  this  volume  regrets  that,  owing  to 
illness  and  other  causes,  he  has  not  been  able  to 
complete  his  work  in  the  time  assigned,  and  there 
has  consequently  been  a  much  longer  interval 
between  this  and  the  previous  volume  than  was 
ever  intended. 

W.  D.  M. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction i 

Commentary — 

Galatians 50 

Romans 141 

Index 381 


THE 

WESTMINSTER  NEW  TESTAMENT 

INTRODUCTION. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

AUTHENTICITY. 

This  is  one  of  the  four  epistles  which  are  accepted 
with  practically  universal  consent  as  written  by  the 
Apostle  Paul.  The  grounds  for  this  are  to  be 
found  both  in  the  external  testimony  of  authors  in 
the  early  Church  and  in  the  nature  of  the  epistle 
itself.  The  internal  evidence  is  peculiarly  powerful 
and  decisive.  Nothing  more  characteristic  can  be 
found  in  literature  than  this  book.  Impetuous 
and  passionate,  vivid  and  personal,  it  evidently 
deals  with  a  definite  situation  and  not  with  one 
imagined  or  invented  in  after  times.  All  feel  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  supposing  that  any  later  writer 
could  invent  a  work  written  in  this  style,  which  in 
certain  characteristics  differs  so  much  from  the  other 
epistles  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  practically  impossible  to 
conceive  of  a  man,  even  one  generation  later,  whep 


2    Westminster  New  Testament 

the  spread  of  Christianity  into  Europe  and  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  had  changed  the  spirit  and  consciousness 
of  the  Church  so  profoundly,  framing  the  particular 
problem  which  is  here  discussed  in  its  peculiar 
phases.  We  have  here  the  atmosphere  of  a  definite 
and  agonising  situation^  which  is  brought  home  to 
us  with  language  of  singular  poignancy.  Even  the 
difficulty  which  we  shall  later  consider,  of  relating 
this  work  with  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  indicates 
that  it  was  written  at  a  time  previous  to  that  work, 
or  else  by  some  one  who  livecl  so  far  apart  from  the 
history  described  in  the  Acts  that  he  could  not  be 
conscious  of  the  difficulties  of  interpretation  in  which 
his  invented  work  would  immediately  be  involved. 

Moreover,  if  what  we  shall  later  discuss  as  the 
South  Galatian  hypothesis  is  accepted,  the  authen- 
ticity of  this  epistle  is  made  surer  than  ever.  For 
in  that  case  it  reflects,  as  Sir  William  Ramsay  has 
abundantly  shown,  circumstances  in  the  life  of  the 
Galatian  churches  peculiar  to  a  period  which  no 
author  of  a  later  date  could  have  known,  and 
which  have  only  been  recovered  by  modern 
methods  of  historical  investigation.  The  history 
of  Asia  Minor  passed  through  so  many  and  such 
important  changes  in  the  latter  half  of  the  first 
century  after  Christ,  that  a  later  writer,  according 
to  the  standards  of  historical  method  in  those  days, 
would  have  betrayed  his  ignorance  over  and  over 
again  regarding  the  period  in  which  he  professed 
to  place  this  letter. 

THE  CHURCHES   OF  GALATIA. 

The  epistle  is  addressed  ^'  to  the  churches  of 
Galatia  "  (i.  2),  and  the  personal  references  contained 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians     3 

in  it  prove  that  the  Apostle  Paul  had  been  the 
founder  of  these  churches,  had  entered  into 
relations  of  very  deep  affection  and  intimacy  with 
them.  He  had  begun  work  among  them  at  a  time 
when  he  was  suffering  from  some  physical  affliction, 
but  they  had  come  under  the  power  of  the  gospel  as 
he  preached  it  in  spite  of  such  a  serious  limitation. 
The  membership  of  these  churches  included  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles  who  had  all,  as  the  Apostle 
supposed,  finally  forsaken  their  past  modes  of 
worship  and  had  accepted  in  its  very  essence  the 
gospel  of  faith  in  Christ  which  he  had  preached 
to  them.  Since  he  had  been  with  them,  certain 
persons  had  appeared  in  their  midst  who  sought  Mith 
the  utmost  ingenuity  and  energy  to  destroy  their 
confidence  in  him,  and  to  win  them  away  from 
the  faith  into  whose  liberty  they  had  entered,  by 
inducing  them  to  become  circumcised  and  under- 
take some  form  of  responsibility  to  the  law  of  Moses. 

1.  Where  was  Galatia  ?— There  has  been 
much  controversy  in  recent  days  regarding  the 
question  as  to  the  exact  region  in  which  the 
churches  were  situated  to  whom  the  Apostle  sent 
this  epistle,  A  slight  sketch  of  the  history  of 
Galatia  is  necessary  to  understand  this  controversy. 

Galatia  was  at  first  the  name  given  to  a  district 
in  the  northern  part  of  Asia  Minor  which  had 
become  occupied  from  the  middle  of  the  third 
century  before  Christ  by  a  small  group  of  Gallic 
tribes  belonging  to  the  great  Celtic  race,  for 
Galatae  and  Keltai  (or  Celts)  are  one  and  the  same 
word.  They  occupied  the  region  in  north  central 
Asia  Minor,  which  is  watered  by  the  rivers 
Sangarion  and  Halys.  As  this  region  is  more 
sparsely  populated  than   those   further   west   and 


4     Westminster  New  Testament 

south,  they  settled  down  as  victorious  invaders. 
Like  the  Normans  who  conquered  the  Saxons  in 
England,  they  became  the  dominant  power  in  the 
country,  retaining  for  many  generations  not  only 
their  original  characteristics  and  even  their 
language,  but  imposing  some  of  their  customs  of 
government  and  social  life  upon  the  masses  of  the 
people.  Gradually  and  necessarily  they  melted 
into  the  general  population,  and  the  whole  of  that 
I'egion  became  known  as  "  Galatia."  In  b.c.  I89 
the  Roman  Empire,  having  now  entered  that  part 
of  the  world,  overcame  the  Galatians  and  captured 
the  city  of  Ancyra.  But  the  natural  energies  of 
such  a  race  as  the  Galatians  are  hard  to  restrain. 
Movement  and  expansion  persisted,  so  that  about 
the  year  b.c.  I60  the  territoiy  known  as  Galatia 
had  not  only  extended  westward  and  north-east- 
ward, but  also  southward,  and  large  portions  of  the 
country  of  Phrygia  and  Lycaonia  were  wrested  from 
their  original  owners.  Thus  they  obtained  control, 
not  without  Roman  sanction,  of  Iconium,  Lystra, 
and  Derbe  from  Lycaonia,  as  well  as  Antioch  "in 
Pisidia"  from  Phrygia.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
first  century  before  Christ  the  Galatians  came 
completely  under  the  Roman  imperial  system, 
and  were  at  last  delivered  from  the  continuous 
warfare  which  had  been  carried  on  by  their  Asiatic 
enemies.  Under  the  imperial  rule,  from  about 
B.C.  44  onwards,  one  king  ruled  over  what  had 
now  become  a  vast  realm.  Thereafter,  and 
until  the  year  a.d.  72,  an  extraordinary  number  of 
changes  in  the  boundaries  of  Galatia  took  place. 
It  was  made  a  Roman  province  by  Augustus  in 
A.D.  25.  Throughout  that  long  period  it  continued 
to   be   a   centre  of  power  in  the  development  of 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians     5 

Roman  authority  and  policy  as  the  empire  spread 
eastwards,  not  only  conquering  but  Romanizing  the 
territories  which  it  conquered.  "The  great  work," 
says  Lightfoot,  "  of  the  Roman  conquest  was  the 
fusion  of  the  dominant  with  the  conquered  races,  a 
result  chiefly,  it  would  appear,  of  that  natural  process 
by  which  all  minor  distinctions  are  levelled  in  the 
presence  of  a  superior  power." 

2.  Two  Rival  Theories. — For  long  the  major- 
ity of  scholars  took  it  for  granted  that  the  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians  was  addressed  to  churches  supposed 
to  have  been  founded  by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  the 
cities  of  Pessinum,  Ancyra,  and  Tavium,  etc.,  in 
the  Northern  Galatia,  or  Galatia  proper.  This 
opinion  had  always  been  felt  to  carry  much 
difficulty  with  it,  and  hence  some  prominent 
scholars  have  always  been  found  to  urge  that  the 
epistle  must  have  been  addressed  to  the  churches 
which  Paul  established  in  what  has  come  to  be 
called  "  South  Galatia,"  according  to  the  story 
told  in  Acts  xiii.  and  xiv.  In  that  case  Paul  called 
them  churches  of  Galatia,  because  they  were  in  the 
Roman  province  of  that  name.  The  dispute  has 
in  our  day  become  crystallized  under  the  two 
phrases  "The  Northern  Galatian  Theory"  and 
"  The  South  Galatian  Theory." 

It  is  best  to  recount  briefly  the  reasons  advanced 
by  those  who  support  the  former.  («)  It  would 
be  natural  for  those  who  had  travelled  through 
those  regions,  as  perhaps  Luke,  the  author  of  the 
Acts,  and  certainly  Paul  had  done,  to  use  the 
popular  rather  than  the  official  names  for  the 
districts  which  they  visited.  Especially  would  it 
seem  on  the  surface  to  be  appropriate  that  a  letter 
should  be   directed  to  churches  under   the   name 


6     Westminster  New  Testament 

which  they  bore  locally^  and  by  which  they  would 
habitually  describe  themselves.  (6)  In  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  we  find  reference  to  various 
districts  of  Asia  Minor  which  seem  to  be  made 
without  any  regard  to  their  political  standing  in 
the  Roman  Empire,  but  solely  to  their  traditional, 
geographical  titles.  Thus  Luke  tells  of  the 
Apostle's  visit  to  Mysia,  Phrygia,  Lycaonia,  none 
of  which  were  provinces.  Moreover,  some  of  these 
are  referred  to  in  passages  where  the  word 
"  Galatia "  is  also  used  (xvi.  6-8,  xviii.  23). 
Yet  again,  in  the  Acts  the  cities  of  Lystra  and 
Derbe  are  ascribed  to  Lycaonia,  and  Antioch 
to  Pisidia,  which  to  some  writers  seems  a  con- 
vincing proof  that  they  were  not  described  as 
Galatian  towns  in  the  ordinary  speech  of  the  day. 
(c)  The  expression  in  Act  xvi.  6,  "  Phrygia  and  the 
region  of  Galatia  "  (A.V.),  is  said  by  these  scholars 
to  refer  to  "  some  region  which  might  be  said  to 
belong  either  to  Phrygia  or  Galatia,  or  parts  of 
each  contiguous  to  the  other." 

In  comparatively  recent  days  a  flood  of  light 
has  been  thrown  by  the  investigations  of  certain 
scholars,  at  the  head  of  whom  is  Sir  WilUam 
Ramsay,  into  the  history  and  geography  of  Asia 
Minor.  The  history  of  that  region  under  the 
Roman  Empire  is  now  more  thoroughly  known 
than  it  ever  has  been,  and  innumerable  minute 
facts  have  been  gathered  which  have  caused 
readjustment  of  many  conceptions  which  had 
become  traditional  among  scholars  regarding  the 
history  alike  of  State  and  Church  during  the  first 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  The  consensus  of 
opinion  has  been  growing  stronger  with  each  stage 
of  the  discussion  in  favour  of  the  conclusion  that 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians     7 

the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  was  addressed  to  the 
churches  in  South  Galatia.  Some  of  the  more 
prominent  reasons  in  support  of  this  view  must  be 
now  given  as  briefly  as  possible. 

(1)  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we  have  no 
room  for  a  journey  to  North  Galatia.  If  such  a 
journey  was  made^  it  could  only  afford  a  very  brief 
time  for  the  laborious  work  of  establishing  a  group 
of  churches  such  as  are  addressed  in  this  epistle. 
On  this  matter  the  crucial  passages  are :  Acts 
xvi.  6j  xviii.  23.  In  the  former  we  have  the 
phrase  "Phrygia  and  the  region  of  Galatia" 
(A. v.),  which  ought  to  be  translated  ^'  They  went 
through  the  region  of  Phrygia  and  Galatia  "  (R.V.). 
Now  if  this  be  the  exact  translation,  it  seems 
inevitable  that  we  should  agree  with  Sir  William 
Ramsay  that  this  must  refer  to  a  portion  of  country 
which  was  still  known  as  Phrygia,  but  had  in 
recent  times  been  incorporated  into  the  Roman 
Province  of  Galatia.  It  seems  unnatural  that 
Luke  should  refer  here  to  Northern  Galatia  as  a 
country  which  long  ago  had  been  Phrygia,  but  had 
become  Galatia — an  unlikely  historical  reference 
in  such  a  work  as  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

Another  difficulty  arises  in  connection  with  this 
verse  from  its  use  of  a  peculiar  Greek  idiom.  The 
verse  reads  as  follows  :  "  And  they  went  through  the 
region  of  Phrygia  and  Galatia,  having  been  forbidden 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  speak  the  word  in  Asia." 
This  did  not  mean,  as  the  English  translation 
suggests,  either  that  the  visit  to  Phrygia  and 
Galatia  was  subsequent  to  the  monition  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  (as  the  North  Galatian  theory  main- 
tains), or  that  after  the  monition  Paul  and  his 
company  turned    back   to    Derbe   and    Lystra   (as 


8     Westminster  New  Testament 

the  South  Galatian  theory  would  requh'e) ;  but 
the  Greek  idiom  allows  us  (as  in  Acts  xxv.  13)  to 
treat  the  participial  clause  as  referring  to  the  time 
subsequent,  and  not  antecedent,  to  that  of  the 
principal  clause.  In  this  passage  the  accurate 
English  translation  would  be  "  and  were  forbidden 
to  speak  the  word  in  Asia/'  which  would  show  that, 
having  started  out  from  the  "  region  of  Phrygia  and 
Galatia/'  and  having  been  intercepted  by  a  Divine 
monition  on  their  way  to  Asia,  the  Apostle  and  his 
companions  diverged  and  went  towards  Mysia. 

In  Acts  xviii.  23  (A.V.)  we  read  that  he  "  went 
over  all  the  country  of  Galatia  and  Phrygia  in  order." 
The  correct  translation  is  (R.V.)  "  went  through 
the  region  of  Galatia  and  Phrygia  in  order." 
As  in  the  former  case,  the  historian  here  refers  to 
a  region  which  at  the  very  time  of  his  writing  was 
known  popularly  in  one  way  as  Phrygia  and  in  the 
other  as  Galatia.  If  this  interpretation  of  the 
two  passages  be  correct,  then  in  neither  case  is 
there  any  reference  to  North  Galatia  ;  and  if  that 
be  established,  then  it  remains  true  that  we  have 
no  reference  in  the  Book  of  Acts  to  any  work 
of  Paul  in  that  country,  and  indeed  no  room 
for  such  prolonged  labours  as  must  be  implied  in 
founding  churches  there. 

(2)  A  special  set  of  considerations  in  this  matter 
arises  from  what  we  know  of  the  Apostle's  attitude 
toward  the  Roman  Empire.  He  was  not  only 
proud  of  being  a  Roman  citizen,  but  appealed 
on  various  occasions  to  the  privileges  involved  in 
that  fact  (Acts  xvi.  37  ff.,  xxii.  25  ff.).  He  seems 
to  have  habitually  recognized  the  Roman  authority 
and  system  in  his  plans  as  a  missionary,  and  even 
in  his  mode  of  addressing  or  speaking  of  the  various 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians     9 

churches  which  he  founded.  Thus  he  describes 
the  PhiHppians  and  Thessalonians^  as  those  of 
"  Macedonia "  because  they  belonged  to  that 
province,  even  though  their  more  definite  geogra- 
phical designation  would  have  been  "^  Thracians." 
So  does  he  use  the  names  "Asia"  and  "Achaia" 
with  careful  attention  to  the  imperial  authority 
which  had  created  those  provinces,  and  to  the 
dignity  which  its  regulations  carried  with  them  in 
the  estimate  of  the  whole  world.  So  with  regard 
to  the  churches  whom  the  Apostle  addresses  in 
this  epistle.  It  is  to  be  admitted  that  he  would 
have  used  the  word  "  Galatians "  if  he  had  been 
addressing  the  churches  in  the  region  originally 
called  "  Galatia."  But  on  the  supposition  that  he 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  group  of  churches  whose 
foundation  is  described  in  Acts  xiii.  14,  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  he  could  have  used  only  the  same 
designation.  For  («)  there  was  no  other  single 
title  by  which  he  could  include  them  all,  other 
than  that  of  the  Roman  province  to  which  they 
belonged  ;  and  (6)  if  he  had  chosen  to  address 
them  through  their  local  designations  as  Phrygians 
and  Lycaonians,  he  would  have  been  guilty  of  a 
failure  in  courtesy,  as  in  that  case  he  would  have 
deliberately  chosen  titles  which  carried  with  them 
the  feeling  of  inferiority,  in  preference  to  that, 
embracing  them  all,  which  recognized  their 
standing  in  relation  to  the  empire.  Especially 
would  this  lapse  in  courtesy  have  been  the  more 
noticeable  because  he  himself  was  a  Roman  citizen. 
An  illustration  of  this  whole  matter  is  to  be  found 
in  the  opening  words  of  1  Peter,  where  we  find  a 
letter  addressed  to  certain  persons  in  Pontus,  Galatia, 
Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia.     At  the  time  when 


lo   Westminster  New  Testament 

this  epistle  was  probably  written  all  these  were  names 
of  Roman  provinces^  and  Galatia  is  one  of  them. 

(3)  Various  facts  arise  from  a  study  of  the  epistle 
itself,  which,  in  his  Historical  Commentary  on 
Galatians,  Sir  William  Ramsay  above  all  others  has 
set  forth.  Even  if  many  of  his  suggestions  seem 
more  ingenious  than  probable,  the  mass  of  evidence 
which  he  presents  is  impressive  in  the  extreme,  and 
the  undoubted  facts  which  he  describes  confirm  the 
theory  that  the  letter  was  addressed  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  cities  of  South  Galatia.  {a)  We 
must  recognize  the  fact  that  in  these  churches  the 
Jewish  element  was  both  numerous  and  powerful, 
while  it  is  hard  to  find  conclusive  evidence  of  their 
presence    in     large    numbers    in    North    Galatia. 

(b)  ^^The  truth  is,"  says  Sir  William  Ramsay,  ''  that 
though  North  Galatia  had  a  peculiar  and  strongly 
marked  character,  not  the  slightest  reference  to  its 
special    character    can    be   found   in  this    epistle." 

(c)  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  points  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  which  seem  peculiarly 
applicable  to  the  known  conditions  and  practices  of 
the  cities  of  South  Galatia.  The  allusion  to  their 
former  religious  beliefs  and  ceremonies,  to  their 
lack  of  quick  intellectual  powers,  to  their  easy 
submission  to  the  sway  of  forceful  personalities, 
would  be  true  to  the  Phrygian  nature  rather  than 
to  the  fiery,  active,  and  independent  Celts.  Further, 
two  allusions  to  legal  practices  (iii.  7-18)  would 
imply  that  the  people  were  familiar  with  the  Greek 
law.  This  is  much  more  likely  to  have  been  the 
case  in  the  southern  cities,  where  Greek  civilization 
was  far  more  potent,  than  in  the  more  sparsely 
populated  and  ruder  regions  of  the  north. 

.S.  Paul's  Visits  to  Galatia.— The  Acts  of  the 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    n 

Apostles  describes  three  visits  which  Paul  paid  to 
the  Province  of  Galatia.  The  first  of  these  occurred 
on  his  first  missionary  journey,  whose  course  is 
described  so  elaborately  in  Acts,  chaps,  xiii.  and  xiv. 
Having  parted  in  some  unfortunate  manner  with 
John  Mark  at  Perga  in  Pamphylia,  the  missionaries 
travelled  up  the  steep  mountain  roads  to  the  high 
lands  of  Southern  Galatia.  Some  think  that  this  in- 
volved a  change  in  their  plans,  and  that  Paul  may 
have  resolved  to  go  in  this  direction  so  as  to  escape 
the  unhealthy  coast  region.  Sir  William  Ramsay  has 
given  at  great  length  powerful  reasons  for  thinking 
that  the  "  thorn  "  or  "  stake  in  the  flesh,"  to  which 
Paul  alludes  in  2  Cor.  xii.  7.,  may  have  resulted 
from  a  severe  attack  of  the  distressing  and  even 
humiliating  disease  known  as  malarial  fever.  In 
this  case  he  probably  was  still  suffering  from 
relapses  of  this  dread  foe,  as  he  moved  among  the 
Galatian  cities  and  wondered  at  the  generous 
manner  in  which  they  received  him  (Gal.  iv.  13,1 4). 
"  The  infirmity  of  the  flesh"  which  he  adduces  in 
that  passage  as  the  cause  of  his  having  come  among 
them  and  preached  to  them,  and  which  he  says  might 
have  tempted  them  to  despise  him,  must  have 
been  a  temporary  affliction.  It  does  not  seem  to 
have  interfered  with  his  work  or  threatened  his 
influence  at  any  other  period  of  his  career,  and  was 
therefore  most  probably  not  a  chronic  form  of 
suffering  or  deformity.  It  may  well  be,  therefore, 
that  in  going  up  into  Galatia  from  Perga  he  was 
seeking  relief  in  a  healthier  climate  from  this 
weakening  and  often  extremely  painful  disease. 

The  details  of  their  visits  to  the  cities  of  Antioch 
of  Pisidia,  Iconium,  Lystra,  and  Derbe  may  be  read 
in  Acts,  and  must  be  passed  over  for  lack  of  space. 


12   Westminster  New  Testament 

The  second  visit  of  the  Apostle  to  this  region  is 
described  more  briefly  in  Acts  xv.  40-xvi.  5.  This 
time  he  went  by  land,  confirming  the  churches  in 
Syria  and  Cilicia  on  the  way.  We  know  nothing 
of  the  origin  of  the  Christian  movement  in  these 
regions,  except  what  we  may  surmise  from  the  fact 
that  Paul  went  thither  after  his  flight  from  Jeru- 
salem, and  that  he  was  probably  active  there  when 
Barnabas  found  him  and  brought  him  to  Antioch 
(Acts  ix.  30,  xi.  25  ;  Gal.  i.  21).  On  this  journey 
he  naturally  came  to  Derbe  first  and  went  through 
the  cities  delivering  the  decrees  issued  by  the 
council  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xv.).  Luke  tells  us  briefly 
of  the  prosperity  which  came  upon  the  churches  : 
"  so  the  churches  were  strengthened  in  their 
faith  and  increased  in  number  daily  "  (Acts  xvi.  5). 

The  third  visit  is  described  very  briefly  in  Acts 
xviii.  23.  Paul  had  entered  upon  a  journey,  start- 
ing from  Antioch  in  Syria  (ver.  22),  and  was 
apparently  determined  to  reach  Ephesus  (Acts 
xix.  1).  This  would  necessarily  take  him  through 
"  the  region  of  Galatia  and  Phrygia,"  for  the  main 
high  road  from  the  East  to  Ephesus  could  not 
have  taken  him  to  Northern  Galatia.  We  may 
conclude,  therefore,  that  he  did  not  pass  by  the 
churches  described  on  those  previous  journeys,  but 
made  it  his  chief  endeavour  to  take  them  "in 
order,  establishing  all  the  disciples." 

Once  more  we  hear  of  these  churches,  when  two 
of  their  leaders,  Gaius  of  Derbe  and  Timothy  of 
Lystra  (Acts  xvi.  1,  2),  were  found  among  the  band 
which  gathered  round  the  Apostle  at  Troas  on  his 
last  journey  to  Jerusalem  (Acts  xx.  4).  And  yet 
again  we  have  a  glimpse  of  his  continued  relations 
and    close    intercourse    with     these    much  -  loved 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    13 

churches,  in  connection  with  the  great  collection 
for  the  poor  at  Jerusalem,  to  which,  even  after 
the  fierce  controversy  and  trouble  which  Jewish 
Christians  had  caused,  he  induced  the  Galatian 
churches  to  contribute  (1  Cor.  xvi.  1). 

THE   DATE  OF  THE   EPISTLE. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  date  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting and  important  subjects  of  discussion 
in  the  field  of  New  Testament  literature  in  these 
days.  We  shall  best  understand  the  matter  if 
we  take  first  the  position  of  those  who  hold  that 
the  Epistles  to  the  Galatians  and  the  Romans  were 
written  about  the  same  time,  and  probably  from 
the  same  place,  and  then  describe  the  reasons 
which  an  increasing  number  of  scholars  give  for 
making  Galatians  one  of  the  earliest  of  Paul's 
writings,  if  not  even  the  earliest. 

1.  Those  who  hold  that  this  epistle  was  written 
at  a  late  date  insist  that  it  belongs  to  the  same 
period  as  1  and  2  Corinthians  and  Romans. 
The  reasons  for  this  are  the  following ;  (l)  The 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  as  we  have  it  before  us,  was 
most  probably  sent  from  Corinth  just  before  the 
Apostle  set  out  on  his  last  visit  to  Jerusalem 
(Rom.  XV.  22  ff).  This  seems  to  be  one  of  the 
most  certain  points  in  the  study  of  New  Testament 
literary  history.  (2)  Further,  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  shows  that  the  Apostle  at  the  time  of  its 
writing  was  absorbed  in  the  defence  and  exposi- 
tion of  what  he  called  "  his  gospel " — the  gospel, 
that  is,  as  it  had  been  given  to  him ;  and  it  is 
this  very  work  of  defending  the  great  principle  of 


14   Westminster  New  Testament 

justification  by  faith,  which  is  his  gospel,  that  gave 
rise  to  the  passionate  argument  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians.  (3)  There  is  not  only  a  striking 
similarity  between  many  of  the  subjects  and  the 
general  mode  of  exposition  in  Romans  and  Gala- 
tians, but  the  similarity  extends  even  to  the  use 
in  both  epistles  of  many  most  striking  phrases 
and  unusual  words  (for  parallels  see  Lightfoot  and 
Adeney  on  Galatians).  (4)  In  his  letters  to  the 
Corinthian  churches  the  Apostle  Paul  is  shown  to 
be  immersed  in  the  same  controversy  regarding 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  gospel  and  his 
own  apostolic  authority.  Especially  is  it  felt 
by  many  that  the  last  part  of  2  Corinthians,  in 
which  the  Apostle  rises  to  a  white  heat  of  indigna- 
tion, reveals  a  situation  and  expresses  a  mood 
similar  to  those  which  gave  rise  to  Galatians.  (5) 
It  is  further  urged  that  if  we  put  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians  in  a  much  earlier  period  than  that 
suggested  above,  we  bring  it  into  proximity  to  the 
Thessalonian  letters — letters  characterized  by  a 
spirit  so  friendly  and  simple  and  quiet  in  tone  as 
to  indicate  that  the  Apostle  was  living  in  another 
psychological  atmosphere,  incongruous  with  that 
out  of  which  the  letter  to  Galatia  was  sent. 

This  argument  involves  that  Galatians  was 
written  either  at  Ephesus  in  close  association  with 
1  Corinthians,  or  after  2  Corinthians,  which  was 
written  in  Macedonia,  at  Corinth.  This  is  the 
opinion  most  commonly  held  and  would  make  it 
necessary  to  date  it  aJ30ut  the  end  of  a.d.  57  or 
early  in  a.d.  58. 

2.  It  has  been  already  stated  that  in  recent 
days  a  number  of  careful  scholars  have  found 
reasons    to   dispute   the  positions  just   described. 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    15 

Prof.  Benjamin  W.  Bacon,  in  his  remarkably  clear 
discussion  of  this  whole  subject  {Commentary  on 
the  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Galatians^  the  Mac- 
Millan  Co.,  New  York),  has  given  good  reasons  for 
the  position  that  a  considerable  time  may  have 
elapsed  between  the  writing  of  Galatians  and 
Romans.  He  would  not  on  general  principles  be 
averse  even  to  admitting  that  the  Thessalonian 
correspondence  followed  the  letter  to  the  Gala- 
tians. He  points  out  that,  in  spite  of  the  similar- 
ity between  Galatians  and  Romans,  there  are  also 
very  great  dissimilarities.  The  one  is  written  to 
churches  with  which  the  Apostle  is  familiar,  the 
other  to  a  body  of  Christians  whom  he  had  never 
visited.  In  the  one  the  very  power  of  the  argu- 
ment as  an  intellectual  feat  is  heightened  by  the 
evidences  of  profound  emotion  which  make  the 
logic  leap  with  life.  The  other  is  calm,  on  the 
whole  deliberate  and  even  tender,  towards  Jewish 
Christians.  Dr.  Bacon  concludes  that  the  aim 
which  Paul  has  in  Romans  of  "  setting  forth  the 
nature  and  grounds  of  his  gospel  "  would  lead  him 
to  revert  once  and  again  to  the  line  of  argument 
pursued  against  the  Judaizers  in  Galatia.  The 
present  writer  is  pursuaded  that  this  is  the  right 
line  to  take  in  studying  the  relations  of  the  two 
epistles,  but  that  Dr.  Bacon  does  not  carry  it  far 
enough.  For  when  he  speaks  of  simply  reverting 
to  the  line  of  argument  in  the  earlier  epistle,  he 
does  not  carry  out  to  its  real  issue  the  principle 
which  he  has  enunciated  in  the  same  paragraph, 
namely,  that  ''  the  same  writer  on  similar  occasions 
will  always  tend  to  repeat  himself.  If  the  subject- 
matter  be  something  which  his  very  occupation 
compels  him  to  constantly  reiterate,  he  will  repeat 


i6   Westminster  New  Testament 

even  whole  phrases  in  identical,  or  very  closely 
similar,  language"  (pp.  9,1,  28).  The  principle 
here  adduced  will  carry  one  much  further  than 
the  assertion  that  the  Apostle  would  revert  in 
Romans  to  the  line  of  argument  pursued  in 
Galatians.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
exposition  in  Romans  covers  a  wider  field,  and  in 
many  important  points  goes  much  deeper  than 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  The  real  relation 
between  the  two  is  more  likely  to  be  found,  on 
the  principle  laid  down  by  Dr.  Bacon  himself, 
in  the  fact  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  an 
exposition  of  the  gospel  as  he  carried  it  from 
region  to  region  and  city  to  city  throughout  his 
ministry,  coloured,  no  doubt,  by  the  progress  of  his 
experience,  but  remaining  fundamentally  the  same. 
The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  not  an  exposition 
of  the  gospel  to  persons  whom  he  had  not  addressed 
before,  but  a  re-exposition  of  one  fundamental 
element  which  had  been  attacked.  That  his 
discussion  of  this  subject  should  result  in  many 
resemblances  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  lies  in 
the  nature  of  the  case,  but  does  not  proceed  from 
the  fact  that  in  writing  either  letter  he  has  before 
him  the  form  or  specific  purpose  of  the  other. 

Dr.  Kirsopp  Lake,  in  his  recent  work  on  The 
Earlier  Ejnstles  of  St.  Paul,  feels  also  that  Romans 
and  Galatians  must  in  some  way  belong  to  the 
same  period.  But  having  adopted  the  wiser  plan 
of  determining  the  date  of  Galatians  apart  from 
the  question  of  its  relation  to  Romans,  he  then 
raises  the  question  how  the  latter  can  be  put  into 
the  same  date  as  the  former.  He  does  this  on  the 
theory  that  the  Apostle  may  have  early  in  his 
ministry,  perhaps  even  roused  to  it  by  the  Gajatian 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    17 

controversy^  set  forth  his  gospel  at  length  and  in 
writing.  This  statement  may  have  been  used  as  a 
circular  letter  in  various  communities,  and  at 
Corinth  he  may  have  turned  that  very  document 
into  a  letter  to  the  Romans,  inserting  their  name 
and  appending  to  it  the  personal  material  of 
chap.  XV.  To  this  theory  we  shall  refer  further 
in  the  introduction  to  Romans.  Suffice  it  to  say 
at  this  point  that  hitherto  it  has  been  assumed  that 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  the  fixed  date  to 
which  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  must  be  drawn 
forward.  Dr.  Lake  takes  the  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians  as  his  fixed  point,  and,  having  placed  it 
early,  seeks  to  draw  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
back  to  its  date.  It  is  a  modification  of  the  latter 
theory  which  will  be  advanced  in  our  discussion  of 
the  date  of  Romans. 

3.  The  question  of  the  date  of  Galatians  is  very 
closely  bound  up  with  a  comparison  of  the  narrative 
portion  in  Gal.  i.,  ii.  with  the  story  of  Paul's  life 
given  by  Luke  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  From 
this  comparison  very  great  difficulties  arise,  some 
of  which  are  probably  insoluble,  and  yet  on  all  of 
which  a  solution  must  be  assumed  or  suggested  by 
one  who  ventures  to  name  any  date  for  the  epistle. 
Let  us  see  what  the  problems  of  this  comparison 
are.  Luke,  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  asserts 
that  Paul  visited  Jerusalem  in  all  four  times 
(ix.  19-30,  xi.  27-30  and  xii.  25,  xv.  1-35,  xxi.  ff.). 
In  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  the  Apostle  himself 
describes  two  visits  which  he  had  paid  previous  to 
the  writing  of  this  letter  to  the  mother-city  of  the 
Church  (i.  18-24  and  ii.  1-10).  It  is  evident,  of 
course,  that  the  first  visits  correspond  to  one 
another,   although    there    are    many    difficulties  in 


i8   Westminster  New  Testament 

their  minute  comparison  ;  and  equally  evident  that 
the  fourth  visit  in  Acts  was  made  after  the  v^^riting 
of  the  epistle.  The  central  question  then  bears 
upon  the  relations  of  the  second  visit  in  Gal.  ii. 
1-10  to  the  second  and  third  visits  described  in 
Acts  xi.  and  Acts  xv.,  which  we  shall  speak  of  as 
the  "  famine  "  and  the  "  council  "  visits  respectively. 
Concerning  these  three  passages  we  have  to  deal 
with  the  following  possibilities:  (l)  That  the 
visit  in  Gal.  ii.  corresponds  to  the  famine  visit  of 
Acts  xi.  ;  (2)  that  it  corresponds  to  the  council  visit 
of  Acts  XV.,  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Galatians  having 
omitted  all  reference  to  the  famine  visit ;  (3)  that 
Luke  was  confused  in  his  account  of  this  part  of 
Paul's  life  and  described  as  two  separate  events, 
namely,  the  famine  and  council  visits,  one  visit 
which  served  both  purposes  of  famine  relief  and 
formal  consultation  at  the  council  of  the  apostles 
and  elders.  The  third  proposal  we  may  rule  out 
as  one  which  not  only  is  supported  by  very  few 
scholars,  but  seems  to  imply  a  confusion  of  mind  in 
the  historian  which  is  inconsistent  with  his  proved 
care  and  attention  to  details  in  other  parts  of  his 
work.  We  are  left  to  identify  the  visit  in  Gal.  ii. 
1-1 0  with  either  the  famine  or  the  council  visit 
in  Acts. 

The  prevailing  opinion  has  hitherto  been  that 
the  visit  in  Gal.  ii.  1-10  must  be  identified  with 
the  council  visit  in  Acts  xv.,  with  the  consequent 
assertion  that  Paul  deliberately  omitted  all  refer- 
ence to  the  famine  visit  of  Acts  xi.,  perhaps  because, 
as  it  was  very  brief  and  during  it  his  attention  had 
been  concentrated  upon  famine  relief,  it  had  in  his 
opinion  no  bearing  upon  the  question  of  his  relation 
to   the  apostles    at    Jerusalem.     (As  to    the  latter 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    19 

point  it  may  be  enough  to  say  here  that  it  would 
surely  have  added  to  the  force  of  his  whole 
argument  if  he  had  said  that  he  paid  this  visit  to 
Jerusalem^  when  he  was  so  sure  of  his  authority  as 
well  as  so  absorbed  in  care  of  the  poor  with  their 
sanction  that  he  had  no  conversation  at  all  with  the 
apostles  about  the  gospel  !) 

If  we  make  a  comparison  of  the  descriptions 
given  by  Luke  and  Paul  respectively  of  the  first 
visit  to  Jerusalem  (Acts  ix.  19-30;  Gal.  i.  15-24), 
we  shall  learn  the  point  of  view  of  each  narrator 
when  describing  the  same  event,  and  perhaps 
discover  the  kind  of  material  which  each  selects 
from  the  great  mass  which  may  have  been  present 
to  his  mind  for  the  specific  purpose  before  him  as 
he  writes. 

{A)  THE  FIRST  VISIT  TO  JERUSALEM. 

(Acts  ix.  19-30;  Gal.  i.  15-24.) 

It  is  perfectly  evident  that  these  narratives  can- 
not be  reconciled  with  one  another  in  every  detail, 
even  although  they  certainly  described  the  same 
general  situation.  At  certain  points  the  one  is 
more  specific  than  the  other,  as,  of  course,  Luke's 
account  is  much  longer  than  Paul's.  Luke  is  intent 
on  showing  Paul's  activity  and  his  actual  connection 
with  the  church  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  one  of  the 
main  purposes  of  his  work  to  reveal  the  fundamental 
harmony  of  his  own  hero  with  those  original  apostles 
for  whom  also  he  cherished  a  profound  reverence. 
It  may  be  that  his  story  reflects  the  memoiy  ot 
Barnabas  rather  than  of  Paul.  Barnabas  would 
naturally  describe  the  matter  from  both  sides, 
giving   the   movements   of   Paul  and  the  outward 


20    Westminster  New  Testament 

means  by  which  he  was  brought  mto  intercourse 
with  the  leaders  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  he  would  quite 
naturally  describe  the  conditions  under  which  he 
w^as  compelled  to  leave  the  city.  Paul,  on  the  other 
hand,  writes  from  the  purely  personal  point  of  view 
as  to  his  motive  in  going  to  Jerusalem,  as  to  his 
relations  with  the  authorities  which  was  the  main 
matter  before  his  mind,  omitting  all  reference  to 
any  other  activities  in  which  he  was  engaged.  It 
was  naturally  important  for  him  to  state  the  fact 
that  after  this  brief  visit  he  went  to  live  and  work 
in  regions  remote  from  Jerusalem.  The  main 
points  of  apparent  divergence  between  the  narratives 
are  that  in  Acts  ix.  27  we  hear  of  ^^the  apostles," 
no  names  and  no  number  being  given,  whereas  Paul 
tells  us  that  he  only  saw  two.  This  can  be  easily 
accounted  for,  if  we  suppose  that  at  this  time  the 
rest  of  the  leaders  were  absent  from  Jerusalem, 
perhaps  in  consequence  of  the  persecution  described 
in  Acts  viii.  1-4.  Another  diiference  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  Luke  says  he  preached  boldly  at 
Jerusalem,  while  Paul  makes  no  mention  of  this  in 
Galatians.  It  would  be  most  natural  for  him  to  go 
to  the  synagogues,  where  he  would  meet  those 
who,  like  himself,  were  Hellenists  or  Grecian  Jews. 
He  could  not  avoid  doing  this  if  he  stayed  fifteen 
days,  and  he  could  hardly  be  there  without  being 
called  upon  to  speak.  That  he  does  not  refer  to 
the  plot  which  drove  him  from  the  city  is  not  an 
important  point  ;  but  it  is  interesting  to  remember 
that  in  1  Thess.  ii,  14,  15  he  says  that  the  Jews 
who  had  killed  the  Lord  Jesus  and  the  prophets 
^'^  drave  out  us  " — a  statement  which  in  its  setting 
can  only  refer  to  the  event  before  us,  for  evidently 
he  is  referring  to  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  and  at  no 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    21 

other  time  previous  to  the  writing  of  1  Thess.  was 
he  so  expelled.  Another  minor  difficulty  is  to  be 
found  in  his  statement  that  he  was  unknown  by 
face  unto  the  churches  of  Judaea^  whereas  Luke  tells 
us  that  he  had  preached  at  Jerusalem.  But  it  is 
very  hard  to  think,  as  w^e  have  just  said,  that  Paul 
stayed  even  two  weeks  at  Jerusalem  and  did  not 
worship  in  the  synagogue  or  elsewhere  with  his 
fellow-believers.  Habit  would  take  him  there. 
The  emphasis  which  Luke  puts  upon  the  statement 
that  he  preached  "at  Jerusalem"  makes  it  more 
natural  to  suppose  that  the  Apostle  is  writing  in 
general  terms  of  the  churches  in  Judaea.  It  may 
be  that  in  the  back  of  his  mind  as  he  wrote  was 
present  the  thought  that  the  other  apostles,  though 
scattered  abroad,  were  probably  moving  amongst 
these  churches  outside  of  Jerusalem.  The  chief 
difficulty  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Luke  omits 
all  reference  to  the  visit  to  Arabia,  which  intervened 
between  his  conversion  and  his  visit  to  Jerusalem. 
Luke  writes  as  if  he  had  remained  in  Damascus  for 
an  indefinite  period  before  going  up  to  Jerusalem. 
But  we  must  note  that  the  narrative  in  Acts  at  this 
point  is  vague  as  to  the  lapse  of  time.  He  was 
"  certain  days  with  the  disciples  "  (ver.  19),  "  when 
many  days  were  fulfilled  the  Jews  plotted  against 
him"  (ver.  23),  '^'^when  he  was  come  to  Jerusalem" 
(ver.  26) — this  is  the  writing  of  a  man  who  does 
not  know  the  whole  story  and  fills  in  the  gaps  with 
vague  references  like  these  for  the  space  of  time 
covered  by  his  narrative.  It  is,  once  more,  im- 
portant to  notice  that  in  another  epistle  (2  Cor.  xi. 
32)  the  Apostle  refers  to  his  escape  from  Damascus 
in  terms  which  coincide  singularly  well  with  the 
statement  in  Acts  ix.  24,  25. 


22    Westminster  New  Testament 

{B)  THE  SECOND  VISIT  TO  JERUSALEM. 

(Acts  xi.  27-30,  xii.  25  and  Gal.  ii.  i-io.) 

When  we  compare  the  second  visits  described  in 
Gal.  ii.  1-10,  with  the  famine  visit  (Acts  xi.  27-30, 
xii.  25),  we  find  them  to  contain  the  following  facts 
in  common  :  (a)  Both  accounts  are  concerned  with 
a  visit  to  Jerusalem.  (6)  In  each  case  a  "  revela- 
tion"  is  referred  to  in  connection  with  the  visit 
(Acts  xi.  28  ;  Gal.  ii.  2).  (c)  In  each  case  the  care 
of  the  poor  is  mentioned,  though  with  diifering 
emphasis,  (rf)  In  each  case  Barnabas  is  with  Paul. 
(e)  In  Acts  xii.  25  Barnabas  and  Paul  return  to 
Antioch,  and  in  Gal.  ii.  11  it  seems  natural  to 
suppose  that  from  the  visit  described  down  to 
ver.  10  he  returned  to  Antioch.  It  seems,  in  view 
of  all  these  facts,  not  unnatural  to  suppose  that 
they  are  accounts  of  the  same  visit.  Being  written 
for  different  purposes,  each  omits  what  is  essential 
to  the  other. 

{C)  PAUL'S  ''SECOND"  VISIT,  NOT  THE 
COUNCIL  VISIT. 

There  is  not  space  to  set  forth  the  long  and 
interesting  account  which  Luke  gives  of  the  council 
at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xv.  1-35).  It  is  evident  tliat 
some  things  are  necessarily  common  to  all  three 
narratives  before  us.  In  each  of  them  there  was  a 
journey  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem ;  in  each  the 
persons  with  whom  we  are  chiefly  concerned  were 
Paul  and  Barnabas  ;  after  each  visit  they  returned 
to  Antioch.  We  have  already  set  forth  the  re- 
semblances between  the  famine  visit  and  Paul's 
second    visit    in     Galatians.     There     are    so    few 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    23 

resemblances  that  we  shall  have  to  reverse  the 
procedure  this  time  and  first  emphasise  the  differ- 
ences between  Acts  xv.  and  Gal.  ii.  1-10.  These 
differences  appear  as  follows :  (a)  In  the  manner 
of  the  interview  with  the  Jerusalem  apostles.  In 
Acts  XV.  it  is  public^  and  in  Gal.  ii.  it  is  described 
as  privcite  and  personal  throughout,  (b)  The  dis- 
cussion in  Acts  XV.  was  concerned  with  the  public 
question  whether  the  Gentile  Christians  should  be 
compelled  to  be  circumcised  as  a  matter  of  universal 
and  permanent  policy.  In  Gal.  ii.  the  discussion 
bears  upon  the  gospel  as  Paul  preached  it,  as  a 
personal  matter  (ver.  2).  The  substance  no  doubt 
would  be  the  same  in  the  two  interviews,  but  the 
form  in  which  it  came  up  is  described  as  entirely 
different  in  these  two  passages,  (c)  The  intrusion 
of  false  brethren.  In  the  one  case,  Acts  xv.,  they, 
both  at  Antioch  and  Jerusalem,  fought  openly  and 
publicly  as  if  engaged  on  their  last  battle,  as 
indeed  it  turned  out  to  be  so  far  as  the  principle 
of  circumcision  was  concerned.  In  the  other  case 
Paul  describes  them  as  false  brethren  "  privily 
brought  in  to  spy  out  our  liberty,"  evidently 
referring  to  an  attempt  on  their  part  to  watch  the 
Apostle's  intercourse  with  Titus.  In  any  case  the 
interference  of  the  false  brethren  in  Galatians  is 
something  entirely  different  from  their  open  work 
as  described  in  Acts  xv.  (d)  The  result,  as  is 
described  in  these  two  passages,  is  naturally 
different.  In  Galatians  the  apostles  give  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  to  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  divide 
the  field.  In  the  other  case,  after  a  public  debate 
before  the  whole  Church,  a  formal  decision  is 
reached,  recognizing  God's  grace  among  the 
Gentiles,    refusing    to    insist    on    circumcision,  and 


24   Westminster  New  Testament 

setting  forth  the  conditions  under  which  social 
intercourse  between  the  two  classes  should  be 
maintained.  And  finally,  formal  action  is  taken 
in  Acts  XV.  to  promulgate  the  decision  in  Antioch 
and  Syria  and  Cilicia,  on  the  basis  of  which  it  was 
hoped  that  henceforth  the  two  sections  of  the 
Church  might  live  at  peace  with  one  another. 

The  attempt  to  harmonize  the  two  narratives  as 
descriptions  of  one  and  the  same  visit  to  Jerusalem 
rests  mainly  upon  the  hypothesis  that  on  this 
occasion  there  occurred  both  the  public  meeting 
which  is  described  by  Luke  and  a  private  one 
which  is  described  by  Paul.  But  this,  while  not 
impossible,  leaves  aside  altogether  the  deep  in- 
consistency between  the  nature  of  the  problems 
which  are  said  to  have  been  discussed  at  this  time. 
It  ignores  the  question  why  Paul  has  not  mentioned 
the  public  discussion  and  the  decrees,  which  bore 
so  directly  in  their  negative  and  positive  elements 
upon  the  other  matter  which  forms  the  subject 
of  the  letter  to  the  Galatians.  Moreover,  to  urge 
that,  Galatians  having  been  written  after  the  second 
visit  to  Galatia,  Paul  had  then  rehearsed  these 
matters  and  did  not  need  to  repeat  them  here, 
is  a  dangerous  use  of  the  argument  from  silence. 
Paul  never  hesitated  to  repeat  things,  and  could 
hardly  have  been  so  unwise  as  to  save  time  or 
evade  what  was  familiar,  by  omitting  from  so 
thorough  and  drastic  a  discussion  of  his  subject 
a  weapon  which  would  have  proved  the  most 
powerful  in  relation  to  the  attitude  of  the 
authorities  at  Jerusalem  towards  himself,  and  upon 
the  fundamental  question  of  circumcision.  For 
Paul  and  Barnabas  were  themselves  intrusted  with 
the  "decrees" — a  most  telling  proof  of  confidence. 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians     25 

If  he  actually  delivered  these  decrees  to  the 
Galatian  churches^  as  Luke  says  he  did  (Acts  xvi.  4), 
the  reason  for  avoiding  all  reference  to  them  after- 
wards becomes  extremely  difficult  to  conceive. 
And  at  this  point  we  may  add  that  it  seems  hard 
also  to  see  how  he  could  have  mentioned  Titus  as 
being  at  Jerusalem  and  escaping  circumcision  if 
he  is  writing  after  the  circumcision  of  Timothy, 
described  in  Acts  xvi.  3.  Dr.  Bacon  gets  over  these 
difficulties  easily  by  calling  Acts  xvi.  1-5  "  un- 
historical."  On  the  whole  matter  it  would  be  rash 
for  any  one  to  say  that  the  case  is  clear  for  either 
conclusion,  but  to  the  present  writer  it  seems  very 
much  easier  to  believe  that  Luke's  story  of  the 
famine  visit  and  Gal.  ii.  1-10  describe  different 
aspects,  not  in  the  least  inconsistent  with  one 
another,  of  the  same  visit,  than  that  Luke  in  Acts 
XV.  is  describing  the  same  situation  and  the  same 
form  of  discussion,  and  therefore  the  same  visit 
as  Gal.  ii.  1-10,  where  the  inconsistencies  are 
fundamental. 

4.  Taking  this  account  of  these  different  passages 
as  our  basis,  then  the  succession  of  events  falls  into 
an  order  which  seems  psychologically  natural  if  we 
recognize  that  on  the  one  hand  the  Jewish  apostles 
did  not  take  a  single  step  towards  the  admission  of 
the  Gentiles  into  the  Church,  unless  when  driven 
to  it  by  clear  proofs  of  the  will  of  God,  and  that 
Paul  himself,  though  conscious  of  his  call  to  be  the 
apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  yet  kept  for  himself  as 
much  as  he  could  of  his  Jewish  inheritance,  and 
sought  to  carry  with  him  the  other  apostles  in  his 
advance  towards  a  larger  freedom.  («)  It  was  most 
natural  that  on  his  first  visit  Paul  was  more  eager 
to  get  Peter's  account  of  the  principal  facts  con- 


26   Westminster  New  Testament 

cerning  Christ,  especially  as  to  His  death  and 
resurrection,  than  to  discuss  with  him  his  own  inter- 
pretation of  the  new  faith.  (/>)  It  was  most  natural 
that  after  his  work  in  Syria  and  Cilicia  (of  the 
details  of  which  we  know  nothing),  and  the  aston- 
ishing success  of  the  work  in  Antioch  (with 
Barnabas),  he  should  seize  the  opportunity  of  the 
famine  visit  (a.d.  45-46)  to  hold  private  conference 
with  the  apostles  who  were  then  in  the  city.  It 
was  quite  in  accordance  with  their  general  spirit 
that  these  apostles  should  give  to  Paul  and  Barnabas 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  agree  that  the 
latter  sliould  carry  on  their  work  among  Gentiles 
while  they  themselves  persevered  with  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  to  the  Jews.  For  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  leaves  the  impression  that  they  were 
always  yielding  to  a  force  whose  meaning  and 
direction  they  did  not  fully  understand,  (c)  It  was 
most  natural  that  soon  after  this  agreement  Peter 
should  visit  Antioch  to  promote  this  mutual  under- 
standing, and  that  his  vacillation  should  compel 
Paul  to  argue  out  the  matter  face  to  face  with  him, 
even  in  the  presence  of  those  who  were  coercing  his 
better  judgment  to  an  unworthy  policy,  by  proving 
to  him  that  he,  without  intending  to  deny  the  sub- 
stance of  the  gospel,  was  yet  destroying  from  the 
minds  of  the  Gentile  Christians  their  conviction  as  to 
the  sole  sufficiency  of  faith  in  Christ  for  salvation, 
(c?)  As  the  situation  in  Antioch  raised  an  issue  that 
had  not  even  been  discussed  at  the  previous  private 
conference,  the  relation  between  Jew  and  Gentile 
within  the  Christian  Church,  the  conditions  of  their 
social  intercourse,  it  was  most  natural  also  that  the 
next  step  should  be  a  thorough  discussion  and,  if 
possible,  a  final  settlement  of  this  matter  by  agree- 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    27 

ment  with  the  authorities  at  Jerusalem,  to  whom 
Peter  and  the  others  "from  James"  held  them- 
selves responsible.  Now  this  is  the  exact  subject 
of  the  council  at  Jerusalem  as  described  by  Luke 
in  Acts  XV.  That  gathering  discussed  the  whole 
matter  in  both  of  its  bearings,  namely,  the  relation 
of  the  gospel  to  the  law  of  circumcision,  and  the 
future  relations  of  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  in 
the  light  of  persistent  Jewish  prejudices.  The 
result,  as  we  know,  was  that  the  council  refused  to 
insist  on  circumcision,  but  demanded  that  the 
Gentile  Christians  agree  to  abstain  from  four 
practices  concerning  which  the  Jewish  Christians 
could  not  get  rid  of  their  social  conscience,  inherited 
from  their  past  religious  beliefs  and  implanted  by 
training  in  their  very  souls.  Why,  then,  does  Paul 
in  this  narrative  nowhere  refer  to  that  council  and 
its  decisions  ?  It  seems  futile  in  the  light  of  the 
whole  purpose  of  his  narrative  to  urge  that  he  had 
already  on  his  second  missionary  journey,  which,  as 
many  think,  immediately  followed  the  council  at 
Jerusalem,  fully  explained  its  provisions  to  the 
Galatian  churches  (Acts  xvi.  1  ff.),  and  that  he  now 
felt  no  need  to  go  over  that  ground  again.  In  such 
a  letter  as  this  a  matter  so  vital  could  not  possibly 
have  been  ignored  by  him.  The  obvious  answer  to 
our  question,  therefore,  is  that  the  council  at 
Jerusalem  had  not  occurred  when  the  Apostle  wrote 
this  letter  to  the  Galatians.  This  conclusion,  to 
which  a  number  of  recent  writers  have  come, 
although  for  long  considered  impossible,  seems  to 
be  the  only  one  which  explains  simply  and  directly 
the  succession  of  events  and  the  fticts  contained  in 
the  letter  itself. 

The    principal     difficulties     urged     against    this 


28    Westminster  New  Testament 

conclusion,  apart  from  the  argument  that  Acts  xv. 
and  Gal.  ii.  1-10  describe  one  and  the  same  event, 
are  as  follows :  (l)  In  the  epistle  itself  Paul  seems 
(iv.  13)  to  speak  as  if  he  had  made  more  than  one 
visit  to  the  Galatian  churches  before  the  writing  of 
this  letter.  These  objectors  translate  two  Greek 
words  as  the  R. V.  does — "  Ye  know  that  because  of 
an  infirmity  of  the  flesh  I  preached  the  gospel  unto 
you  thejirst  time,"  which  seems  strengthened  by  the 
margin — "the  former  time."  And  many  have  held 
this  to  be  conclusive.  It  has  always  been  felt  an 
unsatisfactory  reply  to  urge  that  even  in  Acts  xiii. 
14  Paul  had  journeyed  twice  through  Southern 
Galatia,  and  the  words  might  refer  still  to  the 
earlier  of  those  two  visits  to  each  of  the  churches 
(except  Derbe !).  But  new  light  upon  the  Greek 
language  as  used  in  Paul's  day  has  settled  this 
matter.  The  word  was  correctly  translated  by  the 
A.V.  "at  the  first."  "  It  is/'  says  Dr.  Lake,  "  in  the 
Koine  {i.e.  colloquial)  Greek  more  common  in  this 
sense  (^  original ')  than  in  the  more  classical 
significance,  and  in  the  New  Testament  this  is 
almost  indisputably  its  meaning  in  all  the  ten 
passages  in  which  it  is  found"  (2  Cor.  i.  15; 
Eph.  iv.  22;  i  Tim.  i.  13,  etc.)  {The  Earlier 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  p.  266). 

(2)  The  epistle,  it  is  urged  further,  belongs  more 
naturally  to  the  atmosphere  of  the  central  period 
of  Paul's  missionary  activity — the  period  when 
1  and  2  Corinthians  were  written.  There,  too,  we 
find  his  apostolic  authority  attacked  ;  and  especially 
in  2  Corinthians  x.  ff.  he  writes  in  his  self-defence 
with  a  passion  which  nowhere  else  appears  as  it 
does  in  Galatians.  Yet  it  is  admitted  by  the  more 
candid    writers    that    there    is    a    real    distinction 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    29 

between  the  points  at  issue  in  Galatians  and 
2  Corinthians  respectively.  In  the  latter  there  is 
almost  no  purely  doctrinal  discussion^  whereas  in 
the  former  it  is  upon  the  doctrinal  problems  that 
the  main  force  of  the  argument  is  concentrated.  In 
Galatians  there  is  indeed  a  personal  element  in- 
volved, but  that  relates  to  two  points :  first,  his 
relation  to  the  authorities  at  Jerusalem,  and, 
second,  his  consistency  in  proclaiming  the  same 
message  in  different  circumstances.  These  per- 
sonal considerations  bear  directly  upon  the 
authority  under  which  and  the  sincerity  with 
which  he  delivers  his  message.  In  2  Corinthians, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  "personalities"  in  the 
opprobrious  sense  of  that  term  which  are  prominent. 
The  late  Dr.  Dods  met  this  difficulty  by  urging 
that  Galatians  must  come  after  2  Corinthians 
because  the  doctrinal  would  more  naturally  follow 
the  personal  aspects  in  any  controversy.  The  very 
opposite  is  the  case.  Great  controversies  in  the 
history  of  the  Church  have  almost  invariably  begun 
on  matters  of  principle  and  method,  and  passed  on 
to  "personalities"  in  the  later  stages.  And  the 
reason  for  this  is  obvious,  where  men  are  sincere 
and  where  the  subjects  of  discussion  are  of  profound 
importance.  Hence  it  is  more  likely  than  not 
that  in  the  controversy  between  Paul  and  the 
Jewish  Christians  the  first  attack  would  be  made 
upon  the  substance  of  his  teaching,  not  without 
reference  to  the  question  of  his  authority ;  and 
Paul's  reply  would  not  ignore  the  latter,  but  would 
be  concerned  mainly  with  the  doctrines.  It  is 
natural,  when  his  victory  had  been  won  both  at 
Jerusalem  (for  even  Acts  xv.  describes  a  great 
victory  in  spite    of    compromise)   and  in    Galatia, 


30   Westminster  New  Testament 

with  whose  churches  he  afterwards  maintained 
fellowship,  that  the  controversy  should  be  turned 
by  his  enemies  into  bitter  misrepresentation  and 
slander  of  his  own  character.  If  the  theory 
maintained  elsewhere  in  this  introduction  regard- 
ing the  origin  of  the  Roman  epistle  holds  good, 
then  we  have  an  easy  explanation  of  the  fact  that 
the  Galatian  form  of  controversy  did  not  recur  at 
Ephesus  and  Corinth.  For  the  Apostle,  having 
learnt  his  lesson  in  Galatia,  would  be  more  sedulous 
about  grounding  his  first  converts  in  the  very 
depth  of  those  convictions  which  had  been  so 
easily  shaken  in  Galatia.  His  enemies  would, 
therefore,  be  forced  to  use  other  weapons  than 
those  of  argumentation  on  the  fundamental 
principles  involved,  and  these  included  the 
"  personalities  "  of  2  Corinthians.  On  the  whole 
it  would  seem  as  though  Galatians  belongs  more 
naturally  to  the  controversial  atmosphere  of  the 
earlier  than  of  the  later  period  of  his  missionary 
activity. 

If  these  considerations  hold,  then  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  was 
written  after  Peter's  visit  to  Antioch,  and  before 
the  council  of  Jerusalem  which  resulted  from  his 
conduct  during  that  visit.  This  will  help  to  explain 
two  features  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  The 
first  is  his  astonishment  that  they  should  have  so 
quickly  turned  away  from  his  gospel.  The  second 
is  his  intense  grief  on  discovering  both  the 
malignity  of  his  opponents  and  the  power  of  their 
influence  among  his  converts.  This  theory  also 
explains  the  omission  of  the  name  of  the  Galatian 
churches  from  the  regions  to  which  the  decrees  of 
the    council    were   sent    (Acts   xv.    23),   for   these 


The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians    31 

churches  cannot  as  yet  have  been  well  known  to 
the  authorities  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  letter  was 
addressed  to  churches  where  men  had  appeared 
who  professed  to  be  emissaries  from  Jerusalem. 
We  have  no  proof  that  the  agitators  in  Galatia 
made  this  claim.  Further,  this  date  helps  us  to 
understand  why  the  Apostle,  when  he  made  his 
second  visit  to  Galatia,  did  deliver  these  decrees  to 
those  churches,  for  on  the  one  hand  they  would 
enable  him  firmly  to  establish  his  authority  as  an 
apostle  equal  to  the  other  apostles,  and  they  would 
crowd  on  that  side  of  it  the  argument  of  his  epistle. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  would  be  anxious  to  make 
peace  with  the  Jewish  Christians,  in  the  same  way, 
by  persuading  the  Gentiles  to  observe  the  limita- 
tions of  custom  in  relation  to  the  four  prohibitions. 
Even  the  circumcision  of  Timothy  is  more  easily 
explained,  difficult  as  it  still  is  and  always  will  be, 
when  we  see  the  Apostle,  after  having  written  this 
uncompromising  epistle,  yet  bringing  to  those 
very  churches  that  deliverance  from  Jerusalem 
which  maintained  the  principles  of  his  gospel  intact, 
while  in  the  practical  affairs  of  social  intercourse 
it  made  compromise  possible.  This  position  is 
not  affected  by  the  further  fact  that  we  never  hear 
of  those  ^^ decrees"  again  in  that  form.  Like  so 
many  later  efforts  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  they 
served  only  for  a  brief  and  local  interest  and  then 
vanished  from  active  history. 

One  niore  point  has  some  importance.  In 
Gal.  ii.  12  Paul  says  that  ^^  certain  came  from 
James."  Now,  if  he  was  writing  after  the  council, 
that  remark,  which  undoubtedly  implies  that  they 
were  sent  by  James  to  restrict  liberty,  would  have 
been    most    ungracious.       For    those    men    were 


32   Westminster  New  Testament 

deliberately  and  solemnly  repudiated  by  the 
apostles  (Acts  xv.  24<),  including  James  himself. 
The  only  fair  explanation  of  Paul's  words,  with 
their  inevitable  implication,  is  that  he  wrote  before 
that  repudiation  took  place.  The  men  professed 
to  speak  with  James's  authority  :  Peter  was  afraid, 
even  Barnabas  was  confused,  and  Paul  accepted 
their  story.  Later  he  found  that  they  were  not 
'^from  James  "  in  that  sense. 

PLAN  OF  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE 
GALATIANS. 

Part  I.   Paul's  Apostolic  Authority:  chaps,  i.-ii.  21. 

1.  Salutation  (i,  1-5). 

2.  Galatians     forsaking     the     one    only     gospel 

(i.  6-10). 

3.  The  Call  of   God   the  only  foundation  of  his 

Apostleship  (i.  11-17). 

4.  Paul's  First  Visit  to  Jerusalem  as  an  Apostle 

(i.  18-24). 
.   5.  Paul's  Second  Visit  to  Jerusalem  (ii.  i-io). 

(a)  Private     interview    with     the    "pillars" 

(vers.  1-5). 
[d)  Result  of  interview  (vers.  6-10). 

6.  The  threatened  defection  of  Peter  (ii.  11-14^). 

7.  Paul's  summary   of  his  argument    with    Peter 

(ii.  14^-21). 

Part  II.  The  Central  Argument — The  Law  and  the  Gospel  : 
chaps,  iii.  i-v.  12. 

1.  The  Galatians  stultifying  themselves  (iii.  1-5). 

2.  The   Law   of  faith   exemplified    by   Abraham 

(iii.  6-9). 

3.  The   Curse  of    the   Law    and   the    Redeemer 

(iii.  10-14). 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans     35 

4.  Covenant    and    Promise,    Law    and    Gospel 

(iii.  15-22). 
(a)  Covenant  and  Promise  (vers.  15-18), 
(d)  Law  and  Gospel  (vers.  19-22). 

5.  Law  and  Faith — Tutor  and  Christ  (iii.  23-29). 

6.  Bond-service  and  Sonship  (iv.  1-7). 

7.  God  or  "no-gods"?  (iv.  8-1 1). 

8.  The  Apostle  and  his  children  (iv.  12-20). 

9.  Mount  Sinai  or  Jerusalem  above?  (iv.  21-v.  i). 

10.  Freedom  or  Bondage  ?  (v.  2-6). 

11.  The  Galatians  and  their  disturbers  (v.  7-12). 

Part  III.  Practical  Issues  of  the  Gospel  :  chaps,  v.  13-vi.  10. 

1.  Freedom  and  Licence  (v.  13-15). 

2.  The  war  of  Flesh  and  Spirit  (v.  16-26). 

3.  Mutual  Relations  of  "  the  Spiritual  "  (vi.  1-5). 

4.  Spiritual  Boons  and  Carnal  Gifts  (vi.  6-10). 

Conclusion:  vi.  11-18. 

1,  An  Autograph  Message  (vi.  11-16). 

2.  The  Stigmata   of  Jesus   and   Benediction  (vi. 

17,  18). 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS. 

THE  CHURCH  AT  ROME. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  from  secular  historians 
that  there  were  at  the  period  of  Paul's  life  large 
settlements  of  Jews  in  the  city  of  Rome.  From 
their  invincible  loyalty  to  their  law,  and  unwilling- 
ness to  compromise  its  external  rules,  they  gave 
much  trouble  to  the  authorities,  who  from  time  to 
time  attempted  to  drive  large  numbers  of  them 
from    the    city   (cf.    Acts   xviii.  2).      For  example, 

3 


'?4   Westminster  New  Testament 

Pompey  in  b.c.  64  deported  large  numbers  from 
Judaa  to  Rome  as  prisoners  of  war^  and  proceeded 
to  reduce  them  to  slavery.  But  they  proved  to  be  not 
only  refractory  but  impossible  as  slaves,  since  there 
were  so  many  of  their  laws  and  customs  which  they 
would  rather  die  than  break,  even  in  the  service 
of  their  masters.  Accordingly  large  numbers  of 
them  had  to  be  set  free,  and  they  settled  in  the 
city.  The  increase  of  commercial  traffic  with  the 
East  naturally  drew  to  the  capital  of  the  empire 
many  thousands  of  this  enterprising  race  which  has 
ever,  when  movement  was  open  to  them,  tended 
to  concentrate  themselves  at  the  centres  of 
commercial  power.  It  has  been  conjectured  that 
the  synagogue  at  Jerusalem,  known  as  that  of  the 
Libertines  or  Freedmen,  was  built  for  the  use  of 
Jews  visiting  Jerusalem,  who  had  their  home  in 
the  city  of  Rome  (Acts  vi.  9) ;  and  we  are  told 
that  men  from  Rome  were  in  Peter's  audiences  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.  10). 

Now  it  is  clear  from  direct  allusions  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  that  the  church  which  Paul 
addressed  in  that  city  contained  Jews(ii.  17,  iv.  1, 
vii.  4-6,  ix.  10).  It  may  be  that  from  that  synagogue 
of  the  Libertines  men  returned  to  Rome  who  had 
been  converted  to  Christianity  under  the  preaching 
of  Stephen  and  his  successors,  and  that  they 
naturally  brought  with  them  the  broad  view  of  the 
gospel  for  which  he  died,  and  thus  were  willing  in 
their  turn  to  make  converts  to  the  new  faith  from 
among  those  Gentiles  at  Rome  who  were  already 
through  the  synagogue  interested  in  the  teaching 
of  the  Old  Testament.  We  know  that  in  all  the 
cities  visited  by  Paul  where  there  was  a  synagogue 
such   Gentile  inquirers   had    gathered,    and    they 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans     35 

usually  represented  the  finer  minds  and  the  higher 
characters  among  the  non-Jewish  people. 

That  there  were  Gentiles  also  in  the  church  at 
Rome  when  Paul  wrote,  and  that  they  were 
numerous  and  an  influential  portion  of  the  community 
is  evident  from  the  whole  manner  of  the  epistle  as 
well  as  from  distinct  references  (i.  5,  6,  11-15, 
XV.  8-12,  16-18).  Indeed,  the  argument  of  the 
great  chapters,  ix.,  x.,  xi.,  would  seem  in  many  of 
its  phrases  and  in  its  whole  note  of  urgency  to  be 
exaggerated  and  unmeaning  if  addressed  to  a 
community  where  Gentile  Christians  were  in  a 
small  minority.  Rather  would  it  be  most  powerful 
and  truly  relevant  where  the  Gentiles  had  proved 
to  be  much  more  receptive  towards  the  gospel 
than  the  Jews. 

It  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  the  Apostle  is 
desirous  to  have  some  part  in  the  development  of 
the  Christian  faith  in  the  Roman  church,  and  also 
that  he,  according  to  his  own  words  (xv.  20),  makes  it 
his  aim  and  ambition  to  preach  the  gospel  where 
no  apostle  has  preceded  him,  that  he  did 
not  regard  either  his  writing  to  the  Roman 
Christians  or  his  proposed  visit  to  them  as  any 
breach  of  this  rule.  From  this  it  may  be  conjectured 
that  until  this  time  Rome  had  not  been  visited  by 
any  of  the  apostolic  circle.  It  is  hard  to  believe 
that  the  tradition  which  describes  Simon  Peter 
as  the  founder  of  this  church  can  have  more 
authority  than  this  argument  from  the  language 
and  known  policy  of  Paul  himself.  This,  of  course, 
does  not  mean  that  at  a  later  date  than  this  epistle 
Peter  may  not  have  visited  the  Roman  church. 


36   Westminster  New  Testament 


THE  AUTHENTICITY  OF  THE  EPISTLE. 

It  is  curious  and  interesting  to  find  that  the 
external  evidence  for  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
lies  primarily  within  the  New  Testament  itself. 
Here  our  most  important  witness  is  1  Peter.  No 
less  than  nine  passages  in  that  brief  epistle  can  be 
cited  as  containing  distinct  parallels  in  thought  and 
language  with  Romans.  (The  most  striking  are 
1  Pet.  ii.  6-8  with  Rom.  ix.  32  f.  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  10 
with  Rom.  ix.  25  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  5  with  Rom.  xii.  1  ; 
1  Pet.  iii.  8-11  with  Rom.  xii.  16-18;  1  Pet.  i.  14 
with  Rom.  xii.  2  ;  1  Pet.  i.  22  with  Rom.  xii.  9,  10  ; 
1  Pet.  ii.  13-17  with  Rom.  xiii.  1-7.) 

There  is  a  widely  held  opinion  that  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  was  written  from  Rome^  although 
the  name  of  its  author  remains  in  obscurity.  That 
epistle  undoubtedly  contains  many  sayings  and 
thoughts  which  may  easily  be  taken  as  echoes  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  but  two  passages  are 
frequently  cited  as  indicating  a  more  deliberate 
use  of  the  latter  epistle  by  the  author  of  the  former 
(cf  Heb.  xi.  11,  12,  19  and  Rom.  iv.  17-21; 
Heb.  X.  30  and  Rom.  xii.  19).  There  is  a  very 
clear  resemblance  between  the  doxology  in  Jude 
24,  25  and  Rom.  xvi.  25-27  :  opinions  differ,  of 
course,  as  to  which  of  these  may  be  the  earlier. 
When  we  come  to  the  resemblances  between  the 
epistle  of  James  and  Romans  we  reach  a  subject 
over  Avhich  there  has  been  much  dispute.  The 
treatment  of  the  subject  of  faith  and  works  by 
James  does  not  require  us  to  assume  that  the 
writer  had  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  before  him, 
as  a  hearsay  knowledge  of  what  Paul  taught  might 
have  been  sufficient  reason  for  his  warning  against 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans    37 

a  possible  misconception  of  that  teaching,  while  a  full 
knowledge  of  all  Paul  taught,  as  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  would  have  shown  James  how  unnecessary 
his  warning  was.  This  consideration  makes  it 
difficult  to  believe  that  James  wrote  his  epistle 
with  the  actual  words  of  Romans  before  him.  Yet 
the  parallels  usually  cited  between  the  two  epistles 
are  too  numerous  to  be  ignored,  and  certainly  leave 
us  with  a  literary  problem  of  which  no  final 
explanation  has  yet  been  given.  (Cf.  Jas.  i.  2-4, 
Rom.  V.  3-5  ;  Jas.  i.  6,  Rom.  iv.  20 ;  Jas.  i.  22, 
Rom.  ii.  13  ;  Jas.  ii.  21,  Rom.  iv.  1,  2  ;  Jas.  iv.  1, 
Rom.  vii.  23  ;  Jas.  iv.  11,  Rom.  ii.  1.) 

In  addition  to  this  very  convincing  mass  of 
external  evidence  we  must  very  briefly  call  to  mind 
the  fact  that  the  internal  evidence  for  the  authen- 
ticity of  Romans  is,  as  in  the  case  of  Galatians, 
practically  invincible.  Here  we  have  a  letter  of 
such  intellectual  power  that  a  man  like  Samuel  T. 
Coleridge  could  speak  of  it  as  perhaps  the  greatest 
product  of  the  human  intellect.  It  does  not  come 
forth  from  a  brooding  recluse,  an  unknown  genius, 
a  man  willing  to  hide  his  personality  behind  another 
and  a  greater  name,  or  in  the  darkness  of  anonymity. 
The  letter  breathes  the  very  spirit  of  a  man  engaged 
in  one  of  the  greatest  movements  of  the  human 
mind.  Even  if  we  exclude  the  word  "  Rome  "  from 
the  letter,  and  cut  off  the  last  chapters,  as  some 
would  do,  we  have  in  the  remainder  a  document 
stamped,  not  merely  with  a  great  personality,  but 
with  the  forms  of  a  great  and  momentous  contro- 
versy which  must  have  had  wide  ramifications,  and 
could  not  possibly  have  occurred  without  throwing 
up  other  writings  besides  this  one.  The  epistle 
bears  within  itself,  in  its  innumerable  parallels  with 


38   Westminster  New  Testament 

other  epistles  of  Paul,  proof  that  it  sprang  from  the 
same  mind  which  minted  the  letters  to  the  Galatians, 
Thessalonians,  Corinthians,  and  even  those  of  the 
period  of  his  Roman  imprisonment.  If  the  Apostle 
Paul  was  not  the  author  of  Romans,  then,  as  has 
been  frequently  remarked,  we  may  well  give  up  the 
attempt  to  identify  the  author  of  any  document 
produced  by  the  history  of  the  ancient  world. 


THE  INTEGRITY  AND  DATE  OF  THE 
EPISTLE. 

In  connection  with  the  integrity  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans  there  is  a  very  complicated  situation 
which  must  be  described  as  briefly  as  possible. 

1 .  The  main  facts  are  as  follows  : — 

(a)  The  words  '^  in  Rome  "  are  omitted  from  i.  7, 
1 5  by  one  MS.  which  was  written  in  both  Latin  and 
Greek.  This  was  probably  not  done  of  his  own 
accord  by  the  writer  of  that  MS.,  but  must  be  due 
to  some  other  MS.  which  he  used,  (h)  In  the  last 
chapter,  according  to  the  Received  Text  (used  in 
A. v.),  the  benediction  occurs  both  at  ver.  20  and 
ver.  24.  This  is  best  accounted  for  by  supposing 
that  originally  it  stood  at  ver.  20,  that  some  MSS 
which  omitted  the  doxology  (for  whatever  reason) 
may  have  carried  the  benediction  to  the  end  of  the 
epistle  (ver.  24).  Subsequent  copyists  finding  it 
in  both  places  in  different  MSS  inserted  it  twice, 
(c)  There  is  evidence  which  leads  some  to  suppose 
that  a  number  of  early  writers  had  copies  of  the 
epistle  which  did  not  contain  chaps,  xv.  and  xvi. 
(1)  It  is  almost  certain  that  Marcion  (about  a.d.  150), 
who  made  a  collection  of  Paul's  epistles,  omitted  the 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans    39 

whole  of  chaps,  xv.  and  xvi.,  including  the  doxology. 
This  may  have  been  either  because  he  did  not  find 
them  in  the  MS.  he  used^  or  because  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  deliberately  cutting  out  passages  which  he 
did  not  like  on  theological  grounds.  (2)  Other 
early  writers  of  the  second  and  third  centuries  who 
quote  the  epistle  freely  never  quote  these  two 
chapters.  This,  of  course,  may  have  been  simply 
because  they  did  not  contain  material  ^'  adapted  for 
use."  (3)  Certain  MSS  of  the  Latin  translation, 
known  as  the  "Vulgate,"  which  have  arranged  the 
epistles  in  sections  for  the  purposes  of  public  worship, 
do  not  include  these  chapters.  This,  again,  may 
have  been  due  to  the  feeling  that  they  did  not 
contain  material  particularly  valuable  for  public 
reading,  (d)  The  doxology  has  had  a  complicated 
history  in  the  MSS.  (1)  The  chief  MSS  (one  going 
back  to  the  fourth  century)  all  put  it  at  the  close 
of  chap.  xvi.  and  only  there.  (2)  But  in  a  few  it 
is  placed  at  the  end  of  chap.  xiv.  and  there  only. 
(3)  Some  copyists  insert  it  at  both  places,  probably 
those  who  found  it  at  each  of  these  places  in 
different  MSS.  (4)  Marcion  and  a  few  MSS  omit 
the  doxology  altogether. 

2.  Explanations  of  these  facts.  Of  the  many 
theories  worked  out  to  explain  this  peculiar  tangle 
of  facts  we  can  only  give  some  of  the  most  important. 
{a)  There  is  the  theory  that  both  chaps,  xv.  and  xvi. 
are  spurious.  This  is  opposed  (1)  by  the  evidence 
of  the  great  MSS,  and  (2)  by  the  internal  evidence 
of  the  chapters  themselves.  The  chief  points  are 
that  the  argument  of  chap.  xiv.  does  not  really 
close  until  xv.  13,  and  that  the  remainder  of  the 
chapter  is  too  characteristic  to  have  been  invented 
and   too   irrelevant   to   the   purposes    of  a   forger. 


40   Westminster  New  Testament 

(6)  There  is  the  interesting  theory  of  Lightfoot,  who 
held  that  the  letter  as  Paul  sent  it  to  Rome  may 
have  ended  at  xvi.  24 ;  that  later  on,  perhaps  while 
in  Rome,  the  Apostle  himself  resolved  to  use  it  as 
a  circular  letter  and  for  this  purpose  ended  it  at 
the  close  of  chap,  xiv.,  added  the  doxology,  and 
removed  the  words  "in  Rome"  from  i.  7,  15. 
Later  copyists,  confronted  with  the  longer  and 
shorter  forms,  would  naturally  remove  the  doxology 
to  the  place  it  now  occupies,  (c)  Another  theory  is 
that  the  epistle  as  it  stands  is  the  original  letter  of 
Paul.  Its  mutilation  dates  from  Marcion,  who  had 
doctrinal  reasons  for  cutting  off  the  epistle  at  the 
close  of  chap.  xiv.  so  as  to  omit  the  objectionable 
first  part  of  chap.  xv.  Nothing  in  the  remainder 
was  of  value,  and  the  doxology  was  also  doctrinally 
objectionable  to  him.  The  variations  above  de- 
scribed would  naturally  arise  from  this  source, 
(c?)  Another  view  of  the  matter  has  been  argued  out 
in  a  most  interesting  way  by  Dr.  Kirsopp  Lake  in  his 
recent  work.  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  His 
argument  must  be  given  very  briefly  and  with  the 
omission  of  many  important  points.  Recently 
discovered  Marcionite  writings  make  it  probable 
that  Marcion  did  not  remove  the  words  "  in  Rome  " 
from  i.  7,  15.  He  knows  that  this  is  a  letter  to  the 
Romans.  Dr.  Lake  gives  other  more  recondite 
reasons  for  supposing  that  he  found  the  epistle  in 
the  short  form — that  is,  that  chaps,  xv.  and  xvi. 
were  omitted.  He  concludes  that  it  may  well  have 
been  "  that  ^  Romans '  was  originally  a  general 
Epistle  written  by  St.  Paul  at  the  same  time  as 
Galatians  to  the  mixed  churches  which  had  sprung 
up  around  Antioch,  and  further  on  in  Asia  Minor." 
Assuming  this,  the  next  tentative  step  would  be  "■  that 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans    41 

St.  Paul  had  sent  a  copy  of  the  short  recension  to 
Rome  from  Corinth,  and  added  the  last  chapters  as  an 
expansion  of  the  practical  exhortations,  and  as  the 
greetings  to  the  individual  members  of  the  church." 
When  collections  of  letters  began  to  be  made  in 
the  beginning  of  the  second  century,  the  longer 
form  of  Romans  would  come  to  acquire  more  interest 
than  the  shorter,  and  as  it  was  placed,  in  some 
collections  at  least,  at  the  close  of  Paul's  epistles  to 
the  churches,  the  doxology,  which  is  not  Pauline, 
would  be  added.  But  finally  Dr.  Lake  withdraws 
chap.  xvi.  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  It 
was  originally,  as  a  number  of  other  scholars  have 
held,  a  letter  written  by  Paul  to  introduce  Phoebe 
to  the  church  at  Ephesus.  The  opinions  given  for 
this  position  are  as  follows:  (l)  The  letter  is  ^^un- 
suitable "  for  Rome  because  it  contains  greetings  to 
so  many  persons  at  a  place  so  far  away,  which  the 
Apostle  had  never  visited.  (2)  The  words  of  xvi. 
17,  18  imply  that  Paul  refers  to  his  own  teaching, 
and  knows  of  internal  troubles  in  the  church  to 
which  this  paragraph  is  addressed.  (3)  Epaenetus 
is  described  as  "  the  first  fruits  of  Asia,"  and  Ephesus 
is  in  Asia.  (4)  Prisca  and  Aquila  had  indeed  come 
originally  from  Rome,  but  at  this  time  were  probably 
settled  in  Ephesus  :  cf.  Acts  xviii.  18  ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  19 
(written  from  Ephesus) ;  2  Tim.  iv.  19-  (5)  The 
usual  argument  for  the  Roman  destination  of  this 
chapter,  based  upon  the  number  of  names  which 
have  been  found  in  Roman  inscriptions,  and  which 
occur  in  this  chapter,  is  not  at  all  convincing  to 
Dr.  Lake  when  the  facts  are  examined  in  detail,  as 
he  proceeds  to  do. 

The  chief   difficulties  which   appear  in   the  at- 
tractive argument  of  Dr.  Lake  ai-Q—Jirsl,  that  the 


42   Westminster  New  Testament 

first  paragraph  of  chap.  xv.  seems  after  all  to  be 
so  closely  connected  with  chap,  xiv.,  and  chap.  xiv. 
without  it  seems  to  be  so  inconclusive  that  it 
is  hard  to  think  that  in  the  first  form  of  his  circular 
letter  the  Apostle  stopped  where  chap.  xiv.  now 
stops.  Second,  that  in  spite  of  his  ingenious  dealings 
with  the  names  on  the  Roman  inscriptions,  the  mass 
of  evidence  presented  by  Lightfoot,  and  added 
to  since  by  other  writers,  leaves  an  impression 
which  it  is  hard  to  resist,  that  these  greetings 
were  sent  to  that  city.  There  is  no  convincing 
reason  why  even  if  Prisca  and  Aquila  had  taken  up 
their  abode  in  Ephesus  they  should  not  be  on  a 
visit  to  Rome  ;  nor  is  it  at  all  contrary  to  the  proba- 
bilities that  people  who,  being  Jews  or  Gentiles 
of  the  better  class,  or  even  attaches  of  the  Imperial 
household,  might  be  frequently  travelling  back- 
wards and  forwards  between  Rome  and  the  great 
centres  of  culture,  commerce,  and  political  admini- 
stration, in  which  Paul  had  spent  so  many  years 
of  his  life,  should  be  personally  known  to  him. 
Possibly  also  the  number  of  those  who  were  personally 
known  to  Paul  in  this  list  has  been  exaggerated. 
Not  all  the  references  necessarily  imply  that  Paul 
had  more  knowledge  of  them  than  mutual  friends 
could  give  (cf.  note  on  xvi.  7). 

Nevertheless,  with  the  main  argument  under- 
lying Dr.  Lake's  theory,  the  present  writer  is  in 
deep  sympathy.  It  seems  most  reasonable  to 
believe  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  represents 
the  groundwork  of  all  Paul's  teaching  in  all  his 
churches.  It  is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  he 
had  at  any  time  written  this  out  and  circulated  it 
as  a  document  of  instruction  to  his  churches.  It 
more  probably  arose,  at  what  Paul  believes  to   be 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans    43 

the  close  of  his  ministry  in  Asia  and  in  Eastern 
Europe^  from  a  desire  to  put  into  writing  the  sub- 
stance of  those  teachings  which  he  had  found  to  be 
most  powerful,  in  the  form  which  had  proved  most 
convincing.  If  he  had  preserved  notes  of  these 
addresses  from  an  early  period  of  his  missionary 
career,  and  if  he  went  over  these  notes  as  he 
prepared  to  dictate  this  letter,  we  have  a  reason- 
able explanation  of  the  literary  parallels  between 
Romans  and  Galatians.  It  is  no  wonder  then  as 
he  reviews  his  gospel,  ere  he  leaves  Asia  and  Greece 
for  Italy  and  Spain,  he  digs  deep  down  into  his 
memory,  and  that  he  determines  to  write  it  out 
in  a  form  which  shall  convey,  not  the  elementary 
things  taught  by  all  the  apostles  in  common,  but 
those  central  features  of  his  own  message  on  which 
indeed  they  and  he  agreed,  but  which  he  more 
clearly  than  all  others  saw  to  be  the  very  meaning 
of  the  work  of  Christ  and  the  very  secret  of  the 
salvation  of  men. 


THE  PURPOSE  AND  METHOD  OF  THE 
EPISTLE. 

We  must  look  a  little  closer  at  the  fact  that  in 
writing  to  the  Romans  Paul  has  chosen  to  deal 
more  systematically  with  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  his  gospel  than  in  any  other  of  his  epistles.  In 
all  of  these  others,  including  Galatians,  he  confines 
himself  to  certain  topics  which  have  arisen  in  the 
life  of  the  church,  upon  which  he  finds  it  necessary 
to  send  a  definite  message.  In  some  cases  he  reiter- 
ated what  he  had  already  taught,  in  others  he  dealt 
with  new  questions.  But  in  writing  to  the  Romans 
his  whole  attitude  and  purpose  are  different.     They 


44   Westminster  New  Testament 

have  not  set  their  problems  before  him.  They 
have  received  the  Christian  message  from  various 
persons  unknown  to  fame,  though  they  may  have 
been  known  to  the  Apostle  himself;  and  he  feels 
that  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  describe 
to  them  in  this  elaborate  manner  the  gospel 
as  he  viewed  it,  the  implications  of  the  truth  as 
he  believed  they  had  received  it.  At  only  two 
points,  namely,  chaps,  xiii.  1  ff.  and  xiv.-xv.  13, 
do  we  suspect  that  he  is  addressing  himself  to  a 
particular  feature  in  the  consciousness  and  life  of 
the  Romans.  But  even  in  those  passages  he  deals 
with  subjects  which  must  have  been  frequently 
presented  to  him  in  some  form  or  another  among 
other  churches.  The  Roman  church  seems  on  the 
whole  to  be  at  peace  within  itself  with  only  the 
possibilities  of  real  difficulty  regarding  the  ques- 
tions discussed  in  chaps,  xiv.  and  xv.  (But  cf. 
above  on  xvi.  17-20.)  But  it  must  be  carefully 
noticed  that  even  in  this  epistle  Paul  does  not  set 
himself  to  describe  at  length  those  facts  and 
arguments  with  which  he  must  have  been  always 
concerned  when  he  first  entered  a  new  field,  such 
as  the  ^^  placarding  "  of  Jesus  crucified  (Gal.  iii.  1), 
the  evidence  for  the  Resurrection  (1  Cor.  xv.  1  fF.), 
and  the  proof  of  Jesus'  Messiahship  or  Lordship. 
The  purpose  of  the  Apostle  in  this  letter  lies,  then, 
somewhere  between  the  tasks  of  laying  the 
foundations  and  of  meeting  specific  difficulties  or 
settling  specific  controversies  in  a  particular  field. 
His  aim  is  to  set  forth  the  substance  of  the  gospel 
as  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  do,  in  supplement  of 
the  first  messages  which  he  delivered  in  new 
communities.  It  is  suggested  elsewhere  that  the 
material  used  here  may  be  traced  back  to  the  time 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans    45 

when  he  found  it  necessary  to  defend  his  new 
churches  as  he  established  them  against  the 
possible  inroads  of  Jewish  Christian  agitators.  His 
experience  with  the  Galatian  churches  had  taught 
him  this.  And  it  may  well  be  that  we  hear  of  no 
repetition  of  that  particular  form  of  the  controversy 
because  everywhere  after  that  bitter  incident^ — at 
Ephesus,  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  Corinth,  etc., — 
wherever  his  stay  was  long  enough  to  allow  of  it, 
he  took  care  to  ground  his  disciples  very  deeply  in 
the  substance  of  his  gospel.  It  is  that  substance 
from  which  this  letter  has  sprung.  It  would  follow 
from  this  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  does  not 
represent  the  mood  or  particular  standpoint  of  any 
hour  in  his  life,  but  that  it  sets  forth  that  which 
was  involved  in  the  thorough  "  confirming "  of  all 
his  churches. 

The  teaching  about  sin,  atonement,  faith,  and 
union  with  Christ  is  not  specially  adapted  to  the 
situation  in  Rome  ;  nor  is  the  argument  in  chaps, 
ix.-xi.,  regarding  which,  as  of  special  interest,  a  few 
words  may  be  added.  This  fundamental  argument 
probably  took  shape  in  his  mind  gradually,  for 
its  central  and  agonizing  problem  must  have  been 
with  him  from  the  beginning.  But  certainly  it 
is  not  written  here  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians.  This  great  discussion  did  not 
spring  from  the  agony  of  a  personal  controversy 
and  a  local  disappointment  so  keen  as  that  reflected 
in  Galatians.  Rather  does  it  arise  out  of  long  years 
of  brooding  and  varied  discussion  of  this  great  topic. 
Is  it  too  much  to  suppose  that  in  the  very  period 
before  writing  to  Rome  the  problem  presented  in 
these  chapters  has  absorbed  his  mind  more  intensely 
than  usual    and    has    been    explicitly   argued   out  ? 


46    Westminster  New  Testament 

This  conjecture  may  be  supported  by  two  reasons. 
In  the  first  place,  he  has  been  compelled  to  meet 
this  question  in  the  course  of  the  exhortations 
addressed  to  the  churches  in  Galatia,  Macedonia, 
and  Achaia  regarding  the  collection  for  the  poor 
saints  at  Jerusalem.  We  know  how  elaborately 
he  organized  this  collection  and  how  great  was 
the  importance  which  he  attached  to  its  successful 
consummation.  The  intense  effort  to  secure  sym- 
pathy for  this  movement  must  have  forced  his  mind 
to  answer  many  criticisms  and  strong  objections 
made  by  Gentile  Christians.  Perhaps  the  very 
men  who  were  most  in  sympathy  with  him  would 
object  most  strongly  to  so  unusual  a  step,  un- 
paralleled before  the  birth  of  the  gospel,  as 
raising  a  vast  sum  of  money  and  presenting  it  to 
bitter  enemies  in  the  name  of  the  church.  In  the 
second  place,  the  Apostle's  mind  is  full  of  appre- 
hension about  his  approaching  visit  to  Jerusalem. 
Very  tenderly  does  he  write  of  this  in  Rom. 
XV.  25  ff.  The  desire  to  go  to  that  city  sprang  from 
an  intense  yearning  to  win  the  Jewish  Christians 
to  a  deeper  sympathy  with  their  Gentile  brethren, 
and  therefore  to  a  clearer  faith  in  the  gospel.  It 
is  his  ardent  hope  and  prayer  that  this  collection 
will  help  him  to  enlighten  his  fellow-countrymen 
and  lead  Israel  to  believe  in  that  larger  brotherhood 
which  Israel's  Messiah  has  come  to  establish. 
When  these  chapters  are  looked  at  merely  as 
addressed  to  Rome  they  seem  irrelevant.  When 
looked  at  in  the  light  of  the  actual  work  in  which 
Paul  was  engaged  and  the  habitual  thoughts  of 
this  period  of  his  life,  the  great  argument  glows 
with  a  new  and  deeply  personal  meaning.  We 
then  know  why  he  says  that  he  has  "  great  sorrow 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans     47 

and  unceasing  pain  in  his  heart "  ;  that  he  could 
"  wish  himself  anathema  from  Christ "  for  his 
brethren's  sake  ;  that  his  heart's  desire  and  supplica- 
tion to  God  is  for  them ;  that  he  cannot  bear  to 
think  that  God  has  cast  off  His  people.  These 
exclamations  came  out  of  one  of  the  intensest 
periods  of  emotion  in  the  life  of  the  great  Apostle. 

PLAN  OF  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS. 

Introductory,  (i)  Formal  and  Personal  (i.  1-7). 

(2)  Paul's  longing  to  preach  the  gospel  at  Rome  (i.  8-18). 

Part  I.  The  Universal  Need  of  Salvation  :  chaps,  i.  i8-iii.  20. 

(1)  The  doom  of  the  Gentile  world  (i.  18-32). 

(a)  The  betrayal  of  knowledge  (i.  18-23). 

(d)  The  resultant  and  judicial  degradation  (i.  24-32). 

Note  on  Paul's  picture  of  society. 

(2)  The  condemnation  of  the  Jew  (ii.  i-iii.  20). 

(a)  The  judge  is  judged  (ii.  i-ii). 

(b)  The  law  of  conscience  (ii.  12-16). 

{c)  The  actual  and  the  ideal  Jew  (ii.  17-29). 
(d)  The   advantage    of  the  Jew  and   the    justice   of 
God(iii.  1-8). 

(3)  The  whole  race  declared  guilty  by  Scripture  (iii.  9-20). 

Part  II.  The  Method  of  Salvation  :  chaps,  iii.  21-viii.  31. 
Fundamental  Statement :  The   supreme  act  of  justification, 
or   how   men   are  put  in  righteous  relations  with   God 
(iii.  21-26). 

Transition  paragraph  (iii.  27-31). 
I.  The  principle  of  justification  by  faith  (chap.  iv.). 
(i)  Faith  and  works  (iv.  1-8). 

(2)  Faith  and  circumcision  (iv.  9-12). 

(3)  Faith  and  "the  law"  (iv.  13-17). 

(4)  The  practical  power  of  faith  (iv.  18-22). 


48   Westminster  New  Testament 

(5)  Conclusion  :  the   unity  of   Abraham's    faith    and 

ours  (iv.  23-25). 
Note  on  iv.  1-25. 

2.  Justification  by  faith  and  final  salvation  (v.  i-ii). 

3.  One  sin  and  a  world  of  death,  one  death  and  a  world  of 

righteousness  (v.  12-21). 
Note  on  *'  Much  More." 

4.  The  justified  man  and  the  new  life  (vi.  I-14). 

5.  Slaves  to  law  or  freemen  through  grace  (vi.  15-23). 

6.  Illustration  from  the  law  of  marriage  (vii.  1-6). 

7.  The  mastery  of  sin  and  the  meaning  of  the  law  (vii.  7-25). 

(i)  The  function  of  law  (vii.  7-13). 
(2)  The  hopeless  war  and  the  deliverance  (vii.  14-25). 
Note  on  vii.  7-24. 

8.  The  Spirit  of  God  in  the  life  of  the  justified  man  (chap. 

viii. ). 
(i)  The  spirit  of  freedom  and  life(viii.  i-ii). 

(2)  The  spirit  of  sonship  (viii.  12-17). 

(3)  The  universal  and  the  Christian  hope  (viii.  18-25). 

(4)  Further  grounds  of  confidence  (viii.  26-30). 

(a)  The  Spirit  of  prayer  (viii.  26,  27). 

(3)  The  perfecting  will  of  God  (viii.  28-30). 

(5)  The  assurance  of  faith  (viii.  31-39). 

Part  III.  The  Election  of  Israel :  chaps,  ix.-xi. 
Introduction  (ix.  1-5). 

1.  The  sovereign  will  of  God  (ix.  6-29) 

(i)  The  Divine  plan  is  not  frustrated  (ix.  6-13). 

(2)  First  question — Is  God  unrighteous  ?  (ix.  14-18). 

(3)  Second  question — God's   will  and  man's  responsi- 

bility (ix.  19-29). 

2.  Human  responsibility  (ix.  30-x.  21). 

(1)  What  are  the  facts?  (ix.  30-x.  4). 

(2)  The  principles  of  law  and  faith  (x.  5-13). 

(3)  The  need  of  proclamation  (x.  14-16). 

(4)  The  rejection  by  Israel  (x,  17-21). 


The  Epistle  to  the  Romans     49 

3.  The  sin  of  Israel  and  the  Divine  grace  (chap.  xi.). 
(i)  The  remnant  and  the  rejection  (vers.  i-io). 

(2)  The  rejection  as  an  instrument  of  grace  (vers.  11-24) 

(3)  The  rejection  temporary,  mercy  final  (vers.  25-32). 

(4)  The  wonder  of  God's  wisdom  (vers.  33-36). 

Part  IV.  The  Justified  Man  in  Action  :  chaps,  xii.  i-xv.  13. 

(i)  The  renewed  will  towards  God  (xii.  i,  2). 

(2)  Conduct  in  the  Church  (xii.  3-8). 

(3)  Towards  all  men  (xii.  9-21). 

(4)  Towards  the  secular  government  (xiii.  1-7). 

(5)  The  law  of  love  (xiii.  8-10). 

(6)  The  urgency  of  the  hour  (xiii.  11-14). 

(7)  The  duty  of  the  strong  (xiv.  i-xv.  13). 

(a)  The  presumptuous  judgment  (xiv.  1-12). 

{d)  Responsibility  for  social  influence  (xiv.  13-23). 

{c)  Summary  of  the  situation  (xv.  1-13). 

Part  V.   Personalia  :  chaps,  xv.  14-xvi.  27. 

(i)  The  spirit  of  Paul's  apostleship  (xv.  14-21). 

(2)  Plans  for  visiting  Rome  (xv.  22-29). 

(3)  A  plea  for  intercession  (xv.  30-33). 

(4)  A  personal  introduction  (xvi.  i,  2). 

(5)  Personal  salutations  (xvi,  3-16). 

(6)  A  warning  against  divisions  (xvi.  17-20). 

(7)  Greetings  from  Paul's  companions  (xvi.  21-24). 

(8)  The  doxology  (xvi.  25-27). 


GALATIANS. 

PART  I.  PAUL'S  APOSTOLIC  AUTHORITY. 

(Gal.  i.-ii.  21.) 

I.  SALUTATION  (i.  1-5). 

1  Paul,   an  apostle,  (not   of  men,  neither   by   man,  but  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the  Father,  who  raised  him  from 

2  the  dead  ;)  and  all  the  brethren  which  are  with  me,  unto 

3  the  churches   of  Galatia  :  Grace   be    to   you,    and  peace, 
from   God   the  Father,  and   from  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

4  who  gave  himself  for  our  sins,   that  he  might  deliver  us 
from  this  present  evil  world,  according  to  the  will  of  God 

5  and   our  Father  :    to  whom  be   glory   for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen. 

In  ancient  times  the  Semites,  Greeks,  and  Romans 
put  the  names  and  titles  or  description  of  the 
sender  as  well  as  the  recipient  at  the  head  of  the 
letter,  and  accompanied  them  with  some  good 
wish,  which  in  the  East  seems  to  have  been 
generally  ^^  Peace"  (cf  Ezra  iv.  17,  v.  7),  and 
among  Romans  and  Greeks  was  generally 
"  Health  "  (cf.  Acts  xv.  23,  xxiii.  26).  In  the  New 
Testament  we  find  the  writers  of  letters  using  the 
conventional  and  polite  form.  The  most  striking 
exceptions  are  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and  the 
First  Epistle  of  John,  which  contain  no  formal 
50 


Galatians  i.  1-5  51 

address  or  signature.  In  the  rest  a  new  tone  is 
given  to  the  ancient  form  by  the  introduction  of 
the  names  of  God  and  of  Christ  in  connection  either 
with  the  name  of  the  writer  (Jas.  i.  1)  or  of  the 
recipients  (1  Thess.  1.  1),  or  with  these  and  the 
greeting  also  (1  Cor.  i.  1-3 ;  2  Cor.  1.  1-2 ; 
Phil.  i.  1-2;  2  Pet.  i.  1-2).  Paul  uses  great 
freedom  in  all  three  parts  of  the  formula,  adapting 
it  to  express  his  varied  moods  and  motives  in 
writing. 

The  formula  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is 
peculiar  in  every  respect,  (l)  The  description  of 
himself  as  an  apostle  is  cast,  not  in  the  form  of  a 
direct  and  joyous  assertion  (as  even  Rom.  i.  1-5), 
but  in  a  controversial  mould.  For  he  gives  the 
first  part  of  his  letter  (i.  1-ii.  14)  to  the  proof 
that  his  apostleship  was  derived  from  a  direct 
appointment  of  God,  and  that  in  its  exercise  he 
was  not  dependent  upon,  but  an  equal  co- 
worker with,  the  other  recognized  apostles  of  Christ. 
(2)  In  naming  those  whom  he  addresses  he  uses 
unexampled  brevity — "  Unto  the  churches  of 
Galatia."  In  other  letters  he  invariably  uses  some 
phrase  which  describes  their  standing  in  Christ 
(1  Cor.  i.  2),  their  relation  to  God  (Rom.  i.  7),  or 
in  a  personal  letter,  his  affection  (1  Tim.  i.  2 ; 
2  Tim.  i.  2).  (3)  To  the  usual  greeting  (ver.  S) 
he  adds  a  significant  statement  regarding  the 
work  of  Christ  (ver.  4),  and  a  doxology  (ver.  5). 
This  unusual  form  seems  to  be  prompted  by  the 
feeling  that  the  question  at  stake  among  these 
churches,  whether  they  realized  it  or  not,  was 
the  sufficiency  of  the  saving  work  of  Christ,  and 
that  sufficiency  he  here  asserts  with  concentrated 
force. 


52   Westminster  New  Testament 

1.  On  the  name  Paul  see  notes  on  Acts  xiii.  9- 
apostle  means  one  who  is  sent,  with  authority  to 
speak  for  or  represent  the  sender  (Mark  iii.  14 ; 
John  xvii.  18).  In  the  New  Testament  some 
besides  the  original  band — the  eleven — are  called 
apostles.  Not  only  Paul,  but  James  and  Barnabas 
and  others  (cf.  Rom.  xvi.  7)  wore  the  title.  The 
word  was  used  in  both  a  stricter  and  a  broader 
manner.  In  the  stricter  usage  it  implied  that  a 
man  was  able  to  bear  personal  witness  to  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  (Luke  xxiv.  48  ;  Acts  i.  21-22 
and  xxvi.  l6;  1  Cor.  ix.  1),  that  he  was  conscious 
of  a  direct  appointment  from  God  to  carry  that 
witness  from  place  to  place,  that  this  appointment 
should  be  divinely  confirmed  in  the  midst  of  his 
work  (2  Cor.  xii.  12).  In  this  sense  it  came  to  be 
applied  peculiarly  to  the  eleven.  Throughout  the 
Acts  we  see  the  unique  authority  which  they 
exercise.  The  great  question  which  agitated 
some  of  the  churches  was  whether  Paul  had  a 
special  and  unique  appointment  from  the  Risen 
Christ  which  put  his  authority  on  a  level  with 
that  of  the  original  group  of  apostles.  It  is  fully 
discussed  by  Paul  himself  in  2  Cor.  x.-xiii.,  and 
in  Gal.  i.  ii.  not  of  men,  neither  by  man. 
R.V.,  "not  from  men,  neither  through  man." 
At  the  very  start  Paul  denies  that  his  apostleship 
was  of  human  origin.  Nor  was  it  derived  of  God 
"  through  a  man  "  (as  R.V.  margin  correctly  reads), 
such  as  Peter,  the  recognized  leader  of  the  eleven, 
or  Ananias  or  Barnabas  (see  Acts  ix.  10  ff,  27,  xi. 
25  f,  xiii.  1-3),  who  were  Christian  believers  before 
his  own  conversion,  but  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
God  the  Father.  R.V.,  "through  Jesus  Christ 
and   God  the  Father."     Then  he  asserts  that  his 


Galatians  i.  1-5  53 

appointment  came  directly  from  the  same  source  as 
that  of  the  first  apostles.  The  startling  use  of 
the  word  "by"  or  "through"  as  applied  to  God 
the  Father^  where  we  might  expect  "from/' 
indicates  the  instinct  of  the  apostolic  mind  to 
unite  the  name  of  Christ  intimately  and  supremely 
with  that  of  God.  Having  denied  that  he,  as 
Apostle,  was  appointed  "  through  a  man/'  he 
naturally  adopts  a  form  of  statement  regarding 
Christ,  "through"  whom  he  did  receive  that 
appointment,  which  implies  His  Divinity,  who 
raised    him    from    the    dead.   See   note    on 

Rom.  i.  4. 

2.  and  all  .  .  .  me.  Paul  usually  associates 
some  one  or  two  fellow-workers  with  himself  in  the 
sending  of  a  letter  (cf.  1  Thess.  i.  1  ;  1  Cor.  i.  1), 
though  he  also  on  occasions  uses  his  own  name 
alone  (Rom.  i.  1).  Nowhere  else  does  he,  as  here, 
assert  that  he  has  a  number  of  Christians  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  message.  Whether  he  means  here 
his  coadjutors,  or  the  members  of  the  church 
(Antioch  or  Corinth  or  Ephesus)  which  he  is  visit- 
ing at  the  time,  or  even  representatives  from  the 
Galatian  churches  who  have  described  their 
situation  to  him,  or  a  group  of  fellow-travellers 
from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem,  must  depend  mainly 
on  the  view  which  we  take  as  to  the  date  of  the 
epistle.  The  words  mean  that  in  the  central 
position  of  this  letter  he  does  not  stand  alone, 
churches  of  Galatia.    See  Introduction. 

3.  from  God  the  Father,  and  from  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  best  to  read  with 
margin  of  R.V.,  "  from  God  our  Father,  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Note  again,  as  in  ver.  1,  that 
Christ  is  spoken  of  as  the  source  of   "grace   and 


54   Westminster  New  Testament 

peace "  in  co-ordination  with  God  the  Father. 
The  words  "  grace  "  and  "  peace  "  have  assumed 
a  deeper  meaning  in  the  Christian  Church  than 
they  had  before.  For  grace  is  God's  holy  love 
and  free  mercy,  and  peace  is  that  deep  experience 
of  the  human  heart  when  grace  is  at  home  there. 
And  they  come  both  from  the  Father  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  here  East  and  West  meet 
in  the  Christian  benediction  (see  introductory 
note  above). 

4,  5.  who  gave  .  .  .  Amen.  R.V.,  "  our  God 
and  Father."  This  is  no  formal  statement.  It 
goes  to  the  heart  of  the  coming  discussion,  which, 
however  it  may  involve  other  matters,  above  all 
involves  this,  whether  Christ  is  the  sole  and 
sufficient  Saviour.  This  affirms  (1)  that  Christ's 
death  was  a  deliberate  act  of  His  own  will  in 
relation  to  our  sins,  (2)  that  His  purpose  was  to 
set  us  free,  as  from  moral  slavery,  (8)  that  His 
act  and  its  purpose  flowed  from  the  very   will  of 

God.    evil  world.    Cf.  Matt.  vi.  is. 


Gal.  i.  6-10. 

2.  GALATIANS  FORSAKING  THE  ONE 

ONLY  GOSPEL. 

6  I  marvel  that  ye  are  so  soon  removed  from  him  that  called 

7  you  into  the  grace  of  Christ  unto  another  gospel :  which 
is  not  another ;    but  there  be  some  that  trouble  you,  and 

8  would  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ.  But  though  we,  or  an 
angel  from  heaven,  preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  than 
that  which  we  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed. 

9  As  we  said  before,  so  say  I  now  again.  If  any  man  preach 
any  other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received,  let 


Galatians  i.  6-10  55 

10  him  be  accursed.  For  do  I  now  persuade  men,  or  God? 
or  do  I  seek  to  please  men?  for  if  I  yet  pleased  men,  I 
should  not  be  the  servant  of  Christ. 


Whatever  view  of  the  date  and  eh'cumstances  of 
this    epistle  (see  Introduction)  be  taken,  in  either 
case   it  is   clear  that  he  had   already  warned   the 
Galatians  (ver.  9)  of  the  great  danger  of  the  Judaizing 
group  of  teachers,  and  he  thought  that  his  words 
had    taken   firm   hold   of   the    churches.       Hence 
he  expresses  astonishment  with  his  very  first  word 
(ver.  6)  that  they  had  so  quickly  allowed  themselves 
to  be  harassed  and  shaken  by  that  hostile  move- 
ment.      He   writes   now   promptly   and   hurriedly 
while  the  Judaizers  are  still  among  them  (ver.  7), 
urging  them  not  to  forsake  the  gospel,  the  real 
gospel    of    God   in    Christ,    for   another   message 
which  is  not  a  gospel  at  all.     The  difference  between 
the  two  messages  is  so  great  that  any  one — were 
it  Paul  or  an  angel  (ver.  8),  or  any  one  else — who 
should   displace    the    first    by   the   second,    would 
deserve   the    utmost   wrath  of  that  God  who  has 
given  to  the  world  its  salvation  through  Christ  and 
His  work  alone  (ver.  4).      Who  then  shall  say  that 
Paul  seeks  only  to   please  men,  and  compromises 
his  message   to   win  their   favour  ?     He   has  now 
proved  (by  vers.  6-9)  that  his  one  aim  is  to  win 
God's  favour,  to  be  a  true  slave  of  Christ  (ver.   10). 
It    is    painful    to    realize    that   the    thanksgiving 
(Rom.  i.  8  ;   1  Cor.  i.  4 ;  Col.  i.  3)  is  here  replaced 
by  "anathema." 

6.  I  marvel.  Surprise  underlies  also  the  ex- 
pressions in  iii.  1-5,  iv.  13-16,  v.  7.  SO  SOOn. 
R.V.,  "  so  quickly."  In  2  Thess.  ii.  2  the  word  is 
used  of  a  few  weeks.     It  must  surely  refer  not  to 


56   Westminster  New  Testament 

a  recent  visit  of  Paul^  but  primarily  to  their  con- 
version. They  have  so  quickly  turned  back  from 
the  faith  they  accepted,  removed  from  him  {i.e. 
God).  R.V.,  "removing."  The  word  was  used 
sometimes  for  one  who  deserts  one  party  for 
another,  or  one  set  of  principles  for  another  (see 
Lightfoot's  note ;  also  Zahn,  p.  42,  note).  They 
were  in  the  act  of  becoming  traitors  not  to  Paul, 
but  to  God,  whose  "call"  they  had  heard,  into 
the  grace  of  Christ.  Rather,  "in"  or  "by" 
the  grace  of  Christ.  The  grace  which  appeared 
in  Christ,  which  took  Him  to  the  cross,  is  the 
instrument  of  God's  call  to  men.  Whoso  listens 
for  the  meaning  of  Calvary  and  finds  Divine 
love  there,  he  hears  the  home-call  of  "  our  God  and 
Father"  sounding  through  the  night. 

7.  which  is  not  another.  It  would  be  better 
to  have  only  a  comma  after  "another."  They 
were  being  harassed  by  certain  persons  who  were 
tempting  them  to  accept  another  gospel.  But 
there  is  not  more  than  one  gospel,  that,  namely, 
which  has  Christ  for  its  substance.  The  question 
about  each  new  claimant  to  our  attention  must  be 
— Does  his  message  alter  the  substance  of  that 
gospel.^  (cf.  2  Cor.  xi.  4;  Phil.  i.  15-18).  gospel 
of  Christ.  The  supreme  word  of  God  to  man, 
henceforth  the  fundamental  law  of  human  life, 
which  determines  human  destiny,  is  the  gospel 
which  has  Christ  for  its  origin  and  its  object.  The 
word  "gospel"  is  often  used  alone  in  the  New 
Testament,  but  twenty-six  times  with  an  object 
which  must  be  taken  to  interpret  its  content  and 
meaning  when  used  alone.  In  Matthew  (iv.  23, 
ix.  35,  xxiv.  14)  it  is  "gospel  of  the  kingdom"; 
eight  times  it  is  "  the  gospel  of  God  "  (Mark  i,  14  ; 


Galatians  i.  6-10  57 

Rom.  i.  1,  XV.   16 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  7  ;  1  Thess.  ii.  2,  8,  9  ; 

1  Pet.  iv.  17);  ten  times  "of  Christ"  (Mark  i.  1  ; 
Rom.  XV.  19;  1  Cor.  ix.  12;  2  Cor.  ii.  12,  ix.  IS, 
X.   14;    Gal.    i.  7:    Phil.    i.    27  ;    1    Thess.    iii.    2; 

2  Thess.  i.  8^  "  our  Lord  Jesus  ").  It  is  not;,  then^ 
merely  the  gospel  which  Jesus  preached,  any  more 
than  God  preached  it.  It  is  the  gospel  which  God 
and  Christ  created,  and  which  therefore  demands 
from  us  our  absolute  trust  in  God  and  Christ,  who, 
for  the  Christian  consciousness  cannot  be  separated 
in  this  supreme  act  of  the  soul,  dealing  with  its 
ultimate  destiny.  Six  times  it  is  the  gospel  of  the 
preacher ;  where  Paul  sends  the  letter  in  his  own 
name  alone  it  is  "my  gospel"  (Rom.  ii.  l6,  xvi.  25)  ; 
where  others  are  associated  with  him  it  is  "  our 
gospel"  (1  Thess.  i.  5  ;  2  Thess.  ii.  14;  2  Cor. 
iv.  3 ;  cf.  Gal.  i.  8,  9). 

8,9.  let  him  be  accursed.  R.V.,  "let  him 
be  anathema."  (Cf.  Rom.  ix.  3 ;  1  Cor.  xii.  3, 
xvi.  22.)  The  word  as  used  by  Paul  means,  subject 
to  the  wrath  and  punishment  of  God.  Paul  is  so 
sure  that  the  gospel  is  the  actual  and  holy  will  of 
God,  revealed  to  men  as  their  only  means  of 
salvation,  that  he  believes  opposition  to  it,  when 
deliberate  and  persistent,  can  only  receive  and 
only  deserve  the  condemnation  of  God.  It 
is  not  personal  vindictiveness  that  he  feels, 
for  he  applies  the  word  of  doom  to  himself,  or 
even  to  an  angel,  if  either  should  resist  that  gospel. 
Expulsion  from  a  Christian  church  on  doctrinal 
grounds  was  never  advocated  in  the  New 
Testament,  even  when  the  gravest  truths  were 
being  discussed,  and  such  expulsion  is  not  meant 
by  this  phrase.  This  is  not  an  "  ecclesiastical  use  " 
of  the    term  "anathema,"  as  some   suggest.       To 


58   Westminster  New  Testament 

hate  and  fight  the  free  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  to 
all  men  must  be  to  lose  mercy  for  oneself  And 
Paul  cannot  wish  that  principle  abolished,  though 
he  wishes  with  all  his  heart  that  the  Jews^  may 
escape  its  operation  through  obedience  of  faith 
(cf  Rom  ix.  3). 

10.  For  .  .  .  God?  R.V.,  "For  am  I  now 
persuading  men,  or  God  ? "  if  I  yet  pleased 
men.  R.V.,  "  if  I  were  still  pleasing  men." 
Or,  in  other  words,  "  Can  it  now  be  said  (after 
vers.  8,  9)  that  I  am  willing  to  weaken  my 
attitude  in  order  to  ingratiate  myself  with  the 
great  people  at  Jerusalem  ? "  In  this  verse  the 
Apostle  probably  refers  to  one  of  the  personal 
accusations  which  Judaizers  were  urging  against 
him  among  the  Galatian  churches.  They  not  only 
said  that  he  had  received  his  apostleship  and 
primary  instruction  in  the  gospel  from  the  original 
apostles  at  Jerusalem,  and  had  misrepresented 
it  in  Galatia,  but  that  he  habitually  accommodated 
himself  to  Jewish  prejudice  when  occasion  de- 
manded, and  especially  when  he  went  back  to 
Judaea.  In  a  later  passage  (v.  11)  he  again 
meets  the  insinuation  that  when  he,  Paul,  was  in 
Judaea  he  preached  circumcision,  he  curried  favour 
with  the  authorities,  he  did  not  insist  upon  that 
definite  line  between  law  and  gospel  as  he  had 
done  in  Galatia.  This  deadly  mode  of  attack 
accounts  for  the  passion  of  the  preceding  verses 
(i.  8,  9)^  and  for  the  triumphant  challenge  of 
this  verse,  as  if  he  said,  "  Can  it  now  be  urged 
that  I  have  proved  myself  false  in  Judaea  to  the 
gospel  which  I  preached  to  you  in  Galatia,  that 
I  am  i'^tent  upon  the  approval  of  human  beings  ? 
It         clear   that   if    I    were    at   this  date  in   my 


Galatians  i.  11-17  59 

career,  and  with  that  motive,  untrue  to  my 
gospel  as  I  preached  it  in  Galatia,  I  should 
have  ceased  to  be  the  slave  of  Christ,  my  one  sole 
owner  and  master." 

Many  interpreters  fail  to  notice  that  throughout 
chaps,  i.  and  ii.  the  Apostle  has  this  double  attack 
to  meet :  first,  that  he  was  dependent  on  the 
original  apostles  for  what  he  knew  of  the  gospel, 
and  secondly,  that  he  was  afraid  to  confront  them 
with  the  kind  of  gospel  which  he  had  disseminated 
in  Galatia.  And  these  two  chapters  were  written 
to  disprove  both  accusations.  They  must  be  kept 
steadily  in  mind  as  we  read  on,  for  they  both  control 
the  whole  story  as  he  tells  it. 


Gal.  i.  11-17. 

3.  THE  CALL  OF  GOD  THE  ONLY  FOUNDA- 
TION OF  HIS  APOSTLESHIP. 

11  But  I  certify  you,  brethren,   that   the   gospel  which  was 

12  preached  of  me  is  not  after  man.  For  I  neither  received  it 
of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but  by  the  revelation  of 

13  Jesus  Christ.  For  ye  have  heard  of  my  conversation  in 
time  past  in  the  Jews'  religion,  how  that  beyond  measure  I 

14  persecuted  the  church  of  God,  and  wasted  it :  and  profited 
in  the  Jews'  religion  above  many  my  equals  in  mine  own 
nation,  being  more  exceedingly  zealous  of  the  traditions  of 

15  my  fathers.     But  when  it  pleased  God,  who  separated  me 

16  from  my  mother's  womb,  and  called  me  by  his  grace,  to 
reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him  among  the 
heathen ;    immediately   I    conferred    not   with   flesh   and 

17  blood:  neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which 
were  apostles  before  me  ;  but  I  went  into  Arabia,  and  re- 
turned again  unto  Damascus. 


6o    Westminster  New  Testament 

Paul  now  enters  upon  a  brief  survey  of  his  career 
as  an  apostle,  as  far  as  that  is  necessary  to  establish 
himself  against  the  attack  of  these  subtle  and 
unscrupulous  enemies,  by  proving  his  independent 
position  as  an  apostle  appointed  and  instructed 
directly  by  the  Risen  Christ,  and  his  consistency 
everywhere  and  at  all  times  in  maintaining  the 
purity  of  the  gospel  of  grace  over  against  the 
claims  of  the  Mosaic  law.  There  are  four  main 
paragraphs  in  this  historical  summary.  The  first 
(vers.  11-17)  goes  back  to  his  conversion  in  order 
to  prove  the  Divine  origin  of  his  gospel  as  a  direct 
revelation  to  himself  (11-12):  (1)  by  describing 
his  previous  standing  as  a  thorough-going  Jew 
and  a  bitter  zealot  against  the  gospel  (13,  14); 
(2)  by  reference  to  his  conversion  as  an  act  of 
God  (1.5,  l6a) ;  (3)  by  the  statement  that  for  three 
years  thereafter  he  had  no  contact  with  the  apostles 
(166,  17). 

11.  But  .  .  .  man.  R.V.,  "For  I  make  known 
to  you,  brethren,  as  touching  the  gospel  which  was 
preached  by  me,  that  it  is  not  after  man."  The 
Apostle  uses  the  formal  word  "  make  known  unto 
you"  when  he  wishes  to  introduce  a  particularly 
important  statement  (cf.  1  Cor.  xii.  3,  xv.  i  ;  2  Cor. 
viii.  1).  With  special  solemnity,  and  in  greater 
fulness,  he  reaffirms  the  statement  of  ver.  1.  In 
these  verses  (11,  12)  he  utters  his  claim  which  it 
will  take  two  whole  chapters  to  establish  completely. 
^^  After  man."  In  a  moment  of  insight  Matthew 
Arnold  said  "  Christianity  is  not  natural,"  by  which 
he  meant  that  its  central  truth,  and  its  challenge 
to  the  real  tendencies  ot  the  human  heart,  were 
not  such  as  mankind  would  be  expected  to  evolve. 
So  here,  the  Apostle  insists  that   his  gospel  by  its 


Galatians  i.  11-17  61 

very  nature  is  not  the  kind  of  message  a  human 
mind  could  have  invented.  It  had  no  earthly 
origin. 

12.  of  man.  R.V.  margin,  "from  a  man."  but 
by  the  revelation.  R.V.,  "but  it  came  to  me 
through  revelation."  Each  of  the  three  clauses  in 
this  verse  is  made  the  subject  of  proof  afterwards. 
(1)  A  gospel  that  is  from  heaven  might  have  been 
communicated  to  Paul  by  other  men,  as  it  was  by 
him  to  the  Galatians.  But  he  denies  that  he  got  it 
"from  a  man."  (2)  The  gospel  must  be  taught  by 
man  to  man  in  the  fulness  of  its  meaning  and  power, 
even  as  he  had  taught  it  to  them.  But  he  denies 
that  any  man  had  so  taught  him.  (3)  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  (and  not  a  man)  was  both  giver  and 
teacher  of  this  gospel,  and  that  directly,  im- 
mediately, by  an  act  which  can  only  be  called 
"revelation."  The  Apostle  does  not  restrict  this 
revelation  to  the  event  known  as  his  conversion. 
Rather  would  it  seem  from  the  tone  of  the  follow- 
ing verses,  especially  ver.  17,  that  the  revealing 
work  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  his  mind,  in  which  the 
nature  of  the  gospel  was  taught  to  him,  extended 
from  his  first  visit  to  Damascus  to  his  return  there 
from  Arabia. 

13.  my  conversation.  R.V.,  "my  manner  of 
life."  "conduct"  (see  Hastings'  Bible  Dictionary). 
wasted.  R.V.,  "made  havock."  Better  still, 
"was  destroying,"  Paul  recalls  to  the  Galatians 
what  he  had  already  told  them  of  his  own  past. 
Ashamed  and  humiliated  as  he  always  felt  when 
his  mind  went  back  to  the  days  preceding  his  con- 
version, he  yet  saw  that  it  must  give  his  message 
greater  power  to  stand  before  men  as  one  who  had 
once,  in  full   conviction    and   religious  zeal,  hated 


62    Westminster  New  Testament 

and  wasted  the  congregations  of  those  who  beheved 
Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah.  The  vigorous  language 
of  Luke  (Acts  viii.  3,  ix.  1-5)  no  doubt  reflects  the 
force  with  which  Paul  in  personal  conversation 
described  those  days.  The  conversion  of  Paul  has 
always  been  looked  on  as  one  of  the  great  '^  proofs 
of  Christianity/'  and  in  this  its  defenders  do  but 
echo  his  own  judgment.  One  fine  point  gram- 
marians emphasize — that  the  tense  of  the  two 
words  "was  persecuting"  and  "was  destroying" 
implies  the  fact  that  he  had  failed  in  the  latter 
aim.  He  had  persecuted,  but  he  had  not  destroyed 
the  Church  (1  Cor.  xv.  9  ;  Phil.  iii.  6). 

14.  profited.  R.V.,  "advanced."  above  .  .  . 
nation.  R.V.,  "beyond  many  of  mine  own  age 
among  my  countrymen."  He  is  not  boasting, 
but  recalling  his  reputation  among  his  Jewish 
compatriots  (cf.  Phil.  iii.  3-11).  It  can  only 
be  with  bitterness  that  he  looks  back  to  the 
days  when  his  passion  for  the  traditional  beliefs  of 
his  sect  made  him  notorious  as  a  "  zealot,"  one  of 
the  most  narrow  and  determined  groups  in  the 
Jewish  circles  of  those  days.  See  notes  on  Luke  vi. 
15  ;  Acts  i.  13,  xxi.  20,  xxii.  3,  and  note  how  he 
rings  the  changes  on  the  idea  in  1  Cor.  xv.  12 ; 
Tit.  ii.  14 ;  also  1  Pet.  iii.  13.  It  was  in  the 
name  of  this  bitterest  sect  that  he  persecuted  the 
Church.  Either  Judaism  or  Christ  was  his  alter- 
native both  before  and  after  conversion.  No 
compromise  was  possible  in  his  mind  as  he 
contrasted  these  two  claimants  to  his  faith  and 
service. 

15.  R.V.,  "But  when  it  was  the  good  pleasure 
of  God,  who  separated  me,  even  from  my  mother's 
womb."       Lightfoot   would    ignore    the    physical 


Galatians  i.  1 1-17  63 

separation  at  birth,  and  read — ^'  separated  me  from 
before  my  birth."  In  any  case,  the  words  express 
the  abiding  conviction  of  the  Apostle  that  the  will 
of  God  had  planned  his  life  from  the  beginning. 
called  .  .  .  grace.  The  eternal  will  works  in 
time  and  deals  with  the  human  will.  It  takes  the 
form  of  a  call,  a  smnmons  to  an  intelligent  being, 
which  requires  an  intelligent  response.  And  the 
Apostle  was  "called"  through  all  those  facts  in 
Christ  and  that  revelation  of  the  Divine  Spirit, 
which  are  summed  up  in  the  glorious  word 
"  grace." 

16.  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me.  This  cannot 
mean  that  the  vision  near  Damascus  had  no  out- 
ward reality.  Paul  is  thinking  of  all  that  God  did 
which  resulted  in  his  assurance  of  the  presence  of 
Christ  in  his  heart  and  life.  Lightfoot  holds  that 
for  "  in  me "  we  should  translate  "  through  me." 
For  Paul  seems  to  have  realized  from  the  beginning 
that  the  call  of  God,  the  appearance  of  Christ  to 
him,  committed  him  to  declare  the  universal 
nature  of  that  grace,  even  its  direct  authority 
over  the  Gentiles  (cf  Acts  xxii.  15,  21,  xxvi.  l6  ff.). 
that  I  might  preach  him,  or  "that  I  might 
make  him  an  evangel" — a  message  that  all  is 
well  in  Him  with  mankind. 

17.  The  first  assertion  of  independence  is  found 
in  the  last  clause  of  ver.  l6  and  this  verse. 
Something  in  him  had  from  the  first  resisted  the 
natural  tendency  to  consult  other  men.  The 
sympathy  and  help  of  flesh  and  blood,  even  the 
instruction  of  those  who  were  already  apostles, 
were  deliberately  avoided.  He  went  off  immedi- 
ately to  Arabia  and  returned  thence  to  Damascus. 
Three   years  were  spent   in  this   life  of  apparent 


64   Westminster  New  Testament 

solitude.  We  must  remember  that  before  his 
conversion  Paul  already  knew  something,  perhaps 
much,  of  what  was  affirmed  by  believers  concerning 
Jesus  as  the  Christ.  That  knowledge  was  the 
reason  for  his  persecuting  zeal,  but  it  now  passed 
into  his  new  life,  to  be  thought  through  afresh 
in  the  light  of  the  self-revelation  of  God  in  the 
Risen  Christ  to  him.  Arabia  refers  evidently  to 
the  region  extending  east  and  south  from 
Damascus,  over  which  Aretas  iv.  was  king,  and 
which  for  a  brief  period  seems  to  have  included 
Damascus  within  its  boundaries  (2  Cor.  xi.  32). 
Damascus  is  not  named  above.  But  through- 
out, Paul  assumes  that  his  readers  know  his 
story  (cf.  ver.  13),  and  understand  that  it  was 
from  Damascus  he  went  into  Arabia  and  returned 
again. 

Gal.  i.  18-24. 

4.  PAUL'S  FIRST  VISIT  TO  JERUSALEM 
AS  AN  APOSTLE. 

18  Then  after  three  years  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter, 

19  and  abode  with  him  fifteen  days.     But  other  of  the  apostles 

20  saw  I   none,  save  James   the   Lord's   brother.     Now  the 
things  which  I  write  unto  you,  behold,  before  God,  I  lie 

21  not.     Afterwards    I  came   into   the   regions  of  Syria  and 

22  Cilicia ;   and  was  unknown  by  face  unto  the  churches  of 

23  Judea  which   were   in  Christ :    but   they  had  heard  only, 
That  he  which  persecuted  us  in  times  past  now  preacheth 

24  the   faith  which   once  he   destroyed.     And    they  glorified 
God  in  me. 

In  this,  the  second,  paragraph  of  his  historical 
statement,  the  Apostle  states  three  facts  :  (1)  that 


Galatians  i.  18-24  65 

of  his  own  will  he  paid  a  formal  visit  to  Peter  at 
Jerusalem,  for  a  brief  period,  and  of  the  other 
apostles  he  saw  none  except  James,  the  Lord's 
brother ;  (2)  that  he  had  no  further  contact  with 
Judaean  churches  for  many  years  ;  (3)  that  these 
churches  nevertheless  heard  of  his  work  elsewhere, 
and  rejoiced  in  it.  These  facts  prove  (1)  that 
during  this  period  he  had  not  been  working  under 
the  authority  or  guidance  of  the  original  apostles, 
and  yet  (2)  that  his  work,  his  message,  was  not 
opposed,  but  rather  devoutly  welcomed  by  the 
Christian  communities  of  Judaea,  of  whom  the 
apostles  were  the  leaders. 

18,  19.  The  three  years  must  be  reckoned 
from  his  conversion;  cf.  Luke's  phrase  "after 
many  days  "  (Acts  ix.  23)  and  with  that  1  Kings 
ii.  38  (Gr.  trans.).  In  this  letter  the  names  Cephas 
and  Peter  are  both  used,  but  not  Simon.  James 
(cf.  1  Cor.  ix.  5,  XV.  1),  not  one  of  "  the  twelve," 
was  of  apostolic  quality,  and  became  the  recognized 
and  permanent  head  of  the  Christian  community  at 
Jerusalem  and  author  of  the  Epistle  of  James, 

20.  This  solemn  oath  reveals  (1)  the  importance 
which  Paul  attaches  to  his  act  of  self-defence ;  (2) 
the  clearness  of  his  memory  ;  (3)  the  sincerity  of  his 
statements.  He  does  not  refer  to  the  attempt  on 
his  life  (Acts  ix.  29),  possibly  because  he  is  avoid- 
ing all  irrelevant  details. 

21.  According  to  Ramsay  {Historical  Com- 
mentary, §§  14,  15),  the  regions  means  certain 
districts  within  the  Roman  Province  of  Syria — 
Cilicia.  There  is  no  real  inconsistency  with 
Acts  ix.  30,  for  larsus,  his  own  city,  was  the 
capital  of  Cilicia,  and  most  probably  he  made  it  his 
headquarters  (cf.  Acts  xi.  2.5). 


66    Westminster  New  Testament 

22.  On  the  phrase  churches  of  Judea  which 
were  in  Christ,  see  Hort's  The  Christian  Ecclesia, 
pp.  107-118.  ^^Iii  Christ"  distinguishes  between 
the  Jewish  worshippers  of  God  under  "the  law" 
and  those  groups  who  now  worshipped  Him  "  in 
Christ." 

23,  24.  While  he  remained  personally  unknown 
to  the  Judaean  Christians  (ver.  22),  they  continued 
to  hear  of  his  persistent  preaching  of  the  faith. 
With  great  joy  he  records  their  joy.  in  me 
(cf.  ver.  l6),  on  account  of  him,  their  hearts  went 
up  in  gratitude  and  praise  to  God. 


Gal.  ii.  i-io. 
5.  PAUL'S  SECOND  VISIT  TO  JERUSALEM, 
(a)  Private  interview  with  three  "pillars  "  (vers.  1-5). 

1  Then  fourteen  years   after  I  went   up   again  to  Jerusalem 

2  with  Barnabas,  and  took  Titus  with  me  also.  And  I  went 
up  by  revelation,  and  communicated  unto  them  that  gospel 
which  I  preach  among  the  Gentiles,  but  privately  to  them 
which  were  of  reputation,  lest  by  any  means  I  should  run, 

3  or  had  run,  in  vain.     But  neither  Titus,  who  was  with  me, 

4  being  a  Greek,  was  compelled  to  be  circumcised  :  and  that 
because  of  false  brethren  unawares  brought  in,  who  came 
in  privily  to  spy  out  our  liberty  which  we  have  in  Christ 

5  Jesus,  that  they  might  bring  us  into  bondage  :  to  whom  we 
gave  place  by  subjection,  no,  not  for  an  hour  ;  that  the  truth 
of  the  gospel  might  continue  with  you. 

The  third  paragraph  of  his  personal  defence 
(ii.  1-10)  is  conveniently  divisible  into  two  por- 
tions, viz.,  vers.  1-5  and  vers.  6-10.  The  visit  to 
Jerusalem  which  is  described  here  forms  the  subject 


Galatians  ii.  1-5  67 

of  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  in  apostolic 
Church  history.  For  reasons  already  given  in  the 
Introduction,  it  is  assumed  here  that  we  may 
identify  this  visit  more  easily  with  Acts  xi.  27-30 
and  xii.  25  than  with  Acts  xv.  1  ff.  In  the  first 
section  (1-5)  Paul  asserts  that  on  this  second  visit 
to  Jerusalem  he  consulted  privately  with  the 
leaders  regarding  the  gospel  which  he  habitually 
preached^  but  that  there  was  no  compromise 
involved  in  his  conduct.  This  negative  result  is 
proved  in  vers.  3  and  5. 

1.  Then  fourteen  years  after.  R.V.,  ^^Then 
after  the  space  (?/^  in  the  course)  of  fourteen 
years."  Most  expositors  hold  that  this  means 
fourteen  years  after  the  first  visit  to  Jerusalem, 
but  Ramsay,  Jowett,  and  others  argue  that  we  must 
date  it  from  the  conversion  (see  Introduction). 
Barnabas,  Titus.  If  we  are  to  identify  this 
visit  with  the  second  one  in  Acts  (xi.  27),  then 
Titus  may  have  been  taken  with  them  as  an 
assistant  in  the  laborious  task  of  distributing  the 
supplies  of  food  which  they  had  brought  from  the 
Christians  of  Antioch  for  the  poor  of  the  church 
at  Jerusalem,  but  not  improbably  also  to  let  him 
appear  before  the  authorities  as  an  uncircumcised 
believer,  whose  ability  and  energy  and  consecration 
would  prove  him  a  subject  of  God's  grace. 

2.  revelation.  Lit.,  '^according  to  revelation." 
This  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  belief  that 
Barnabas  and  Paul  may  have  been  sent  to  Jerusalem 
from  Antioch  to  minister  to  the  poor.  The  con- 
text would  suggest  that  the  revelation  bore  upon, 
and  awoke  or  approved  the  purpose  to  consult  the 
leaders  at  Jerusalem.  In  the  view  of  some  it  may 
refer  to  the  prophecy  of  Agabus  (Acts  xi.  20)  which 


68    Westminster  New  Testament 

led  to  the  expedition,  and  communicated  unto 
them  that  gospel.  R.V.,  ^^and  I  laid  before 
them  the  gospel."  He  did  not  act  as  one  wishing 
to  learn  the  gospel,  but  to  lay  before  them  the 
gospel  which  he  habitually  preached,  that  a  clear 
understanding  might  be  reached,  but  privately. 
This  consultation  was  not  before  the  whole  church, 
Paul  wishing  to  know  the  mind  only  of  the  leaders, 
and  perhaps,  wisely,  to  reach  some  conclusion  with 
them  before  the  voice  of  "false  brethren"  should 
be  heard.  It  seems  impossible  that  the  sentence 
should  mean,  as  some  hold,  that  he  first  met  the 
whole  church,  and  then  the  leaders  apart,  lest 
by  any  means  ...  in  vain.  This  can  hardly 
mean  that  the  Apostle  had  any  doubt  about  the 
truth  of  his  gospel.  But  many  events  might  occur 
to  frustrate  his  work — if  the  leaders  proved  hostile 
to  it ;  and  this  consultation  would  prevent  them 
from  occurring.  Zahn  suggests  that  these  words 
represent  the  question  as  Paul  put  it  to  the 
leaders, — "  Do  you  hold  that  I  have  laboured  in 
vain  ?  " — expecting  the  negative  answer,  which  he 
received. 

3.  The  following  sentence  (vers.  3-5)  is  one  of 
the  most  difficult  to  explain  grammatically.  It 
can  only  be  understood  by  realizing  that  as  he 
dictates  it,  the  Aj^ostle  recalls  and  feels  intensely 
not  only  the  stress  of  that  past  crisis,  but  the 
immeasurable  importance  of  the  matter  which  was 
then  at  stake,  and  which  has  now  been  revived 
among  the  churches  of  Galatia  to  their  unspeakable 
danger  and  his  own  distress  of  soul.  For  instance, 
the  abrupt  reference  to  Titus  implies  between  vers. 
2  and  3  a  rush  of  thought  towards  the  triumphant 
issue  of  that  consultation  (ver.    5).     That  triumph 


Galatians  ii.  1-5  69 

is  proved  by  the  fact  that  Titus  was  not  compelled 
to  come  under  the  Jewish  law  in  order  to  be  in 
fellowship  with  those  "of  repute."  Whether  any 
attempt  was  made  to  insist  on  his  circumcision  is 
not  clear_,  and  is  much  disputed  among  interpreters. 
Perhaps  this  personal  question  was  not  even  raised 
by  the  authorities  of  the  Jerusalem  church,  and 
that  would  prove  their  sympathy  with  Paul's 
gospel  to  have  been  complete.  If  this  epistle  was 
written  before  the  Council  at  Jerusalem,  the  case 
of  Timothy  (Acts  xvi.  1  ff.)  had  not  yet  occurred. 

3.  Titus.  On  Paul's  close  relations  with  Titus, 
see  2  Cor.  vii.,  viii.,  xii.  18  ;  Tit.  i.  4. 

4.  Why,  then,  did  Paul  hold  that  consultation 
(ver.  2)  ?  Because  he  had  discovered,  perhaps  both 
at  Antioch  and  certainly  at  Jerusalem,  that  certain 
men,  called  false  brethren,  were  working  in  subtle 
ways  to  impose  the  Jewish  law  on  believers  in 
Christ.  (1)  They  intruded  deceitfully;  (2)  they 
sought  proof  that  Jewish  Christians  were  consorting 
with  Gentile  Christians  (spy  OUt  OUr  liberty) ; 
(3)  their  purpose  was  to  create  an  agitation  which 
would  result  in  enforcing  the  Jewish  law  upon  all 
Christians  (bring  US  into  bondage). 

5.  by  subjection.  R.V.,  "in  the  way  of  sub- 
jection." It  would  seem  that  Paul  had  unmasked 
tliese  men,  and  in  spite  of  their  efforts  to  use  the 
authority  of  "  the  pillars  "  to  crush  him  and  destroy 
"  liberty  in  Christ,"  he  had  persistently  and  success- 
fully withstood  them,  with  yOU.  If  this  visit  to 
Jerusalem  took  place  after  Paul's  first  visit  to  the 
Galatians  (identifying  it  with  Acts  xv.  1  ff.  instead 
of  Acts  xi.  25),  then  he  means  that  he  was  thinking 
definitely  of  his  converts  in  Galatia,  and  fighting 
for  them  specially  at  Jerusalem.     But  if  the  position 


70   Westminster  New  Testament 

here  taken  is  true,  then  ^^with  you"  means  "with 
you  as  Gentiles/'  i.e.  "with  all  Gentiles,  and 
therefore  with  you." 


(6)  Result  of  interview  (vers.  6-10). 

6  But  of  those  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat,  whatsoever  they 
were,  it  maketh  no  matter  to  me  :  God  accepteth  no  man's 
person  :  for  they  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat  in  conference 

7  added  nothing  to  me  :  but  contrariwise,  when  they  saw 
that  the  gospel  of  the  uncircumcision  was  committed  unto 

8  me,  as  the  gospel  of  the  circumcision  was  unto  Peter ;  (for 
he  that  wrought  effectually  in  Peter  to  the  apostleship 
of  the  circumcision,    the  same   was  mighty  in  me  toward 

9  the  Gentiles  ;)  and  w^hen  James,  Cephas,  and  John,  who 
seemed  to  be  pillars,  perceived  the  grace  [that  was  given 
unto  me,  they  gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right  hands  of 
fellowship ;  that  we  should  go  unto  the  heathen,  and  they 

10  unto  the  circumcision.  Only  they  would  that  we  should 
remember  the  poor  ;  the  same  which  I  also  was  forward 
to  do. 

In  the  second  section  of  this  third  paragraph  the 
Apostle  returns  to  state  the  result  of  his  con- 
sultation with  those  "of  repute."  (1)  He  asserts 
(still  negatively)  that  they  added  nothing  to  his 
conception  of  the  gospel  (ver,  6)  ;  (2)  they  arranged 
for  a  division  of  labour  (vers.  7-9)  ;  (3)  and  in  view 
of  that  division  they  asked  of  him  one  practical 
favour  (ver.  10). 

6.  But  .  .  .  somewhat.  R.V.,"  But  from  those 
who  were  (/?z.  are)  reputed  to  be  somewhat." 
Opinions  differ  as  to  whether  Paul  refers  to  the 
primary  apostles  with  a  touch  of  scorn  (cf.  vers. 
^,  6,  9  ;  also  2  Cor,  xi.    5,  xii.    11).      His   position 


Galatians  ii.  6-10  71 

was  delicate,  for  he  must  at  once  assert  his  own 
authority  as  equal  to  them,  and  yet  recognize  their 
authority  as  most  high  and  most  real.  He  must 
resist  those  who  exalt  them  and  depreciate  himself. 
The  margin  of  R.V.  would  indicate  that  their 
"  repute "  or  authority  is  recognized  by  him  as 
a  permanent  fact.  And  yet  it  is  not  a  matter 
depending  on  outward  circumstances,  or  limited 
to  one  course  of  experience,  such  as  theirs  had  been. 
Behind  these  parenthetic  clauses  there  is  a  complex 
of  thought  and  emotion  impossible  to  disentangle. 
Different  commentators  catch  various  glimpses  of 
it.  It  is  hard  to  doubt,  however,  that  the  whole 
contrast  between  the  origin  of  their  authority  (they 
ivere  with  Jesus),  and  his  who  had  persecuted  the 
Church,  is  constantly  colouring  the  entire  dis- 
cussion. It  makes  no  difference  to  Paul  what  they 
had  been  in  the  past.  The  Divine  will  is  not 
limited  to  one  way  of  appointing  an  apostle. 
(Cf  Rom.  ii.  11  ;  Eph.  vi.  9  ;  Col.  iii.  25  ;  Acts  x.  34  ; 
Jas.  ii.  9.)  added  nothing  to  me.  R.V.,  "im- 
parted nothing  to  me."  They  gave  him  no  fresh 
insight  into  the  essential  nature  of  the  gospel. 

7,  8.  The  outstanding  facts  were  seen  in  that 
conference  to  be,  that  both  Peter  and  Paul  had 
been  winning  men  to  the  faith  of  Christ ;  that  Peter 
had  been  successful  among  Jews,  and  Paul  among 
Gentiles  ;  and  that  it  was  God  Himself  who  had 
wrought  with  and  through  each  of  them.  Through- 
out the  disputes  of  the  apostolic  Church  the  evident 
act  of  God  in  the  conversion  of  men  to  Christ  was 
always  treated  as  final  (cf.  Acts  viii.  14-16,  xi.  18). 

9.  Hence  there  followed  a  scene  full  of  the 
beauty  of  the  Divine  grace.  "They  who  were 
reputed  to  be  pillars"  (R.V.),  viz.  James  and  Peter 


72    Westminster  New  Testament 

(Cephas)  and  John,  sealed  an  agreement  by  giving 
the  right  hands  of  fellowship  to  Barnabas  and 
Paul.  It  was  agreed  that  they  should  continue 
the  plan  which  had  already  received  the  blessing 
of  God_,  each  group  specializing  in  the  work  among 
those  with  whom  they  were  already  successful. 

10.  The  Apostle  was  always  deeply  concerned 
with  the  work  of  helping  the  destitute  Christians 
at  Jerusalem.  No  full  and  clear  explanation  of 
this  continued  distress  has  been  yet  given.  (Cf. 
Acts  xi.  27,  SO,  xxiv.   17;  also  Rom.  xv.  2,  5,  6; 

I  Cor.  xvi.  3,  4  ;  2  Cor.  viii.,  ix.)  Ramsay,  referring 
this  verse  to  the  visit  of  Acts  xi.  27,  translates  as 
follows  :  ''  Only  (they  instructed  me)  to  remember 
permanently  the  poor,  which  I  then  made  it  my 
object  to  do." 

Gal.  ii.  11-14. 

6.  THE  THREATENED  DEFECTION  OF 
PETER. 

I I  But  when  Peter  was  come  to  Antioch,  I  withstood  him  to 

12  the  face,  because  he  was  to  be  blamed.  For  before  that 
certain  came  before  James,  he  did  eat  with  the  Gentiles : 
but  when  they  were  come,  he  withdrew  and  separated  him- 

13  self,  fearing  them  which  were  of  the  circumcision.  And 
the  other  Jews  dissembled  likewise  with  him  ;  insomuch 
that  Barnabas  also  was  carried  away  with  their  dissimula- 

14  tion.  But  when  I  saw  that  they  walked  not  uprightly 
according  to  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  I  said  unto  Peter 
before  them  all,  If  thou,  being  a  Jew,  livest  after  the 
manner  of  Gentiles,  and  not  as  do  the  Jews,  why  compellest 
thou  the  Gentiles  to  live  as  do  the  Jews  ? 

In  the  fourth  and  last  paragraph  of  Paul's  auto- 
biographic defence  he  finally  disposes  of  the  sug- 


Galatians  ii.  11-14  73 

gestion  that  in  order  to  "please  men"  (cf.  i.  10) 
he  had  compromised  among  the  authorities  at 
Jerusalem  that  gospel  which  he  had  preached  in 
far-off  Galatia.  He  describes  a  scene  at  Antioch 
■which  may  have  occurred  very  soon  after  the 
agreement  set  forth  in  the  preceding  verses  (7-9). 
That  agreement  had  not  thoroughly  cleared  the 
air.  The  plan  that  Peter  and  Paul  should  work 
among  Jews  and  Gentiles  respectively  had  left 
undecided  the  question  as  to  the  mutual  communion 
of  Gentile  and  Jewish  believers  in  a  church  like 
this  at  Antioch.  Hence  Peter,  on  this  visit  to 
Antioch,  fell  into  inconsistency.  At  first  he  accepted 
the  situation  and  consorted,  as  he  found  Paul  and 
Barnabas  and  other  Jews  consorting,  with  Gentile 
Christians  in  social  life.  But  he  was  thrown  into 
confusion  of  conscience  when  a  group  of  strict  men 
came  from  Jerusalem,  and  professing  to  speak  with 
the  authority  of  James,  protested  that  he  was 
going  too  far.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  had  no 
authority  to  make  this  protest  (Acts  xv.  25),  but 
their  tone  made  Peter  afraid.  He  began  to  with- 
draw from  the  fellowship  of  the  Gentiles  (perhaps 
from  the  Agape  or  communion  feast  of  the  church), 
and  his  example  caused  others  to  withdraw.  The 
pressure  of  authority  was  so  great  that  "  even 
Barnabas,"  that  staunch  fellow-worker  of  Paul,  was 
moved  by  it. 

11.  Paul  confronted  Cephas  personally,  and  not 
through  any  conference  of  authorities,  because  the 
latter  stood  so  plainly  "condemned"  (R.V.).  It 
was  not  a  matter  for  ecclesiastical  arrangement  (as 
in  ver.  9),  but  for  straight  dealing  with  an  individual 
conscience  in  its  confusion  and  guilt. 

12.  he   did  eat.    Lit.,  "he  was  eating."     This 


74    Westminster  New  Testament 

may  not  imply  that  he  went  freely  into  their  homes, 
but  that  he  took  part  with  them  in  the  frequent 
meals  at  which  the  members  of  the  Church  as- 
sembled to  celebrate  their  joyous  unity  (Acts  ii. 
46,  47;  1  Cor.  xi.  20  ff.).  he  withdrew  and 
separated.  There  was  no  sudden  act.  He  gradu- 
ally drew  back  as  the  fear  pressed  upon  him. 

13.  dissembled,  dissimulation.  Lit.,  "prac- 
tised hypocrisy."  This  hypocrisy  was  an  attempt 
to  hide  his  fellowship  with  Gentiles  from  the 
visitors  from  Jerusalem.  Fear  drove  him  to  avoid 
an  unpleasant  encounter  with  them  without  dis- 
owning publicly  the. conduct  which  offended  them. 
Paul  may  have  watched  this  with  silent  indignation 
till  the  climax  was  reached,  when  on  a  definite 
occasion  Barnabas  was  drawn  away. 

14^  Then  Paul  seized  a  suitable  occasion  and 
confronted  Peter  with  the  devious  nature  of  his 
conduct,  the  truth  of  the  gospel  (of.  ver.  5). 
Peter  was  not  acting  upon  what  he  knew  to  be  the 
true  nature  of  the  gospel.  He  had  left  the  straight 
path  of  right  conduct  towards  the  Gentiles,  as  his 
own  faith  in  the  free  grace  of  God  opened  it  up 
before  him.  before  them  all.  This  may  mean 
the  assembled  church.  But  the  connection  with 
ver.  13  and  the  tone  of  the  argument  which  follows 
would  rather  indicate  that  only  the  Jewish  Christians 
who  were  involved  in  this  movement  were  present. 

Gal.  ii.  14^-21. 

7.  PAUL'S  SUMMARY  OF  HIS  ARGUMENT 
WITH  PETER. 

14  But  when  I  saw  that  they  walked  not  uprightly  according 
to  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  I  said  unto  Peter  before  them 


Galatians  ii.  14-21  75 

all,    If  thou,    being   a    Jew,    livest    after   the   manner   of 
Gentiles,  and  not  as  do  the  Jews,  why  compellest  thou  the 

15  Gentiles  to  live  as  do  the  Jews?     We  who  are  Jews   by 

16  nature,  and  not  sinners  of  the  Gentiles,  knowing  that  a 
man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law,  but  by  the 
faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus 
Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ, 
and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law  :  for  by  the  works  of  the 

17  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified.  But  if,  while  we  seek  to 
be  justified  by  Christ,  we  ourselves  also  are  found  sinners, 
is   therefore    Christ    the    minister   of    sin?     God    forbid. 

18  For  if  I  build  again  the  things  which  I  destroyed,  I  make 

19  myself  a  transgressor.     For  I  through  the  law  am  dead  to 

20  the  law,  that  I  might  live  unto  God.  I  am  crucified  with 
Christ :  nevertheless  I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth 
in  me  :  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by 
the   faith   of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and   gave 

21  himself  for  me.  I  do  not  frustrate  the  grace  of  God  : 
for  if  righteousness  come  by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead 
in  vain. 

The  second  half  of  this  fourth  paragraph  com- 
prises Paul's  argument  and  protest  against  the 
conduct  of  Peter  and  the  other  Jewish  Christians. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  the  Apostle  has 
reproduced  the  very  language  which  he  used. 
He  recalls  the  subtance^  and  much  perhaps  of  the 
phraseology ;  but  the  original  speech  may  well 
have  been  longer  and  varied  by  conversational 
interruptions.  The  line  of  argument  may  be 
summarized  under  the  following  points :  (l)  Peter 
is  compelling  Gentile  believers  to  adopt  the 
Jewish  law,  whereas  his  own  conduct  shows  that 
he  did  not  believe  it  to  be  obligatory  (ver.  14^^)  ; 
(2)  the  Jewish  Christians  had  put  their  faith  in 
Christ   because   the   law  had    failed  to  give  what 


76   Westminster  New  Testament 

Christ  does  give,  namely,  justification  or  a  righteous 
relationship  with  God  (vers.  15,  l6) ;  (3)  to  go 
back  to  the  law  now  would  mean  that  faith  in 
Christ  had  made  them  sinners,  which  is  not  to  be 
thought  of  (ver.  1 7)  ;  (4)  on  the  contrary,  to  go 
back  to  the  law  would  mean  the  loss  of  that  life 
unto  God  which  they  now  had,  and  resumption  of 
the  status  of  transgressors  (vers.  18,  19);  (5)  Paul 
(and  all  true  believers)  are  living  in  a  union  with 
Christ  by  faith  in  Him,  which  means  that  they 
are  dead  to  the  claims  of  "  the  law."  This  wonder- 
ful grace  of  God,  and  the  meaning  of  Christ's 
death,  would  be  rendered  void  if  they  abandoned 
that  faith  (vers.  20,  21). 

14^  why  COmpellest  thou.  The  moral  auth- 
ority of  the  leaders  would  have  Gentile  Christians 
to  come  under  the  law  of  circumcision.  Paul 
must  have  seen  the  distress  of  those  Gentiles, 
and  seen  also  that  if  this  policy  were  carried  out 
Christianity  would  be  reduced  to  a  mere  Jewish 
sect. 

15.  sinners   of  the  Gentiles  (cf.    Luke  vi. 

32,  33  with  Matt.  v.  -i?,  and  Matt.  xxvi.  45  with 
Luke  xviii.  32).  He  could  hardly  have  used  this 
phrase  with  grace  if  Gentiles  were  present.  It 
expressed  the  traditional  contempt  of  the  Jews 
for  the  non-Jewish  world.  Paul,  of  course,  uses 
it  here  with  a  touch  of  sarcasm,  for  all  present, 
while  Jews  by  birth,  had  confessed  themselves 
sinners  in  accepting  Christ. 

i6.  by  the  works  of  the  law.  R.V.  margin, 
"  by  works  of  law."  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Better — "^  but  only  through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ."  The  fundamental  contrast  of  two  funda- 
mental principles  is  stated  here.      Righteousness  or 


Galatians  ii.  14-21  77 

justification  is  the  aim  of  botii.  But  according  to 
one  method  it  rises  out  of  law,  as  a  man  by  labour 
fulfills  the  law ;  according  to  the  other,  it  descends 
into  a  man's  life  through  faith  in  Christ  from  the  will 
of  God.  Paul  views  them  as  warring  principles,  fatal 
to  one  another.  The  one  is  legalism  ;  the  other  is 
evangel-ism,  a  gift  from  God.  The  one  has  been 
proved  false  and  delusive  Q'  knowing  that  a  man," 
etc.) ;  the  other  is  a  refuge  and  deliverance  from 
it,  and  a  joyous  fact,  for  by  the  WOrks,  etc. 
A  free  citation  of  Ps.  cxliii.  2  (cf.  same  quotation 
in  Rom.  iii.  20). 

17,  18,  19.  These  very  difficult  verses  must  be 
read  as  if  we  stood  in  that  group  of  disputants. 
Paul  is  looking  at  Peter  and  Barnabas  and  the 
emissaries  "from  James."  They  all  are  acting  as  if 
the  Jewish  law  were  for  them  the  will  of  God, 
to  ignore  which  is  sin.  By  their  present  conduct 
they  are  accusing  Paul  and  their  own  past  bearing 
towards  Gentile  Christians  of  being  sinful  before 
God.  He  compels  them  to  confront  their  own 
conduct  in  its  inner  meaning. 

(1)  Ver.  17.  If  by  seeking  justification  through 
Christ  we  have  to  take  our  place  beside  the 
Gentiles  as  "sinners"  (cf.  ver.  15),  disowning 
henceforth  the  authority  of  the  Jewish  law,  has 
not  Christ  put  us  into  a  sinful  relation  to  that  law, 
and  thus  become  a  minister  of  sin  ?  Most  emphat- 
ically. No ! 

(2)  Ver.  18.  For,  on  the  contrary,  if  I  were  to 
go  back  under  the  law — as  you  have  done — and 
build  up  over  me  its  authority — which  I  had  torn 
down — I  would  then  constitute  myself  a  trans- 
gressor. (The  change  to  the  first  pers.  sing.  "  I  " 
instead  of  "  we  "  is  a  delicate  courtesy.      For  they 


78   Westminster  New  Testament 

had  done  what  he  now  denounces,  and  he  makes 
the  rebuke  at  once  more  polite  and  more  telhng 
by  saying,  "  If  I  were  to  do  this,  the  result  would 
be  as  follows.")  ^^ Either  we  are  not  justified  by 
Christ,  or  we  are  not  justified  by  the  law" — 
Luther. 

(3)  Ver.  19.  "  For  I  through  law  died  unto  law, 
that  I  might  live  unto  God  " — R.V.  margin.  The 
paradox  can  only  be  explained  by  the  Atonement, 
which  Paul  states  in  terms  of  a  living  experience 
in  ver.  20.  Once  he  was  under  "law,"  a  tyrant 
principle  which  gave  no  righteousness  and  no 
peace.  Now  he  lives  consciously  and  freely  unto 
God  (cf.  Rom.  vi.  12).  The  fact  of  a  death  of 
some  kind  is  proved  by  the  fulness  and  power  and 
divine  quality  of  the  new  life  which  is  now  really 
his.  A  man  puts  his  trust  in  Christ,  and  so  dies 
to  "law,"  not  to  get  rid  of  God  and  God's  will, 
but  that  he  may  be  most  truly  bound  over  to  His 
service  in  heart  and  will. 

20.  The  best  translation  is  that  of  R.V.  maj'gin 
— "  I  have  been  crucified  with  Christ ;  and  it  is 
no  longer  I   that  live,  but  Christ  liveth    in    me." 

(1)  To  enthrone  Christ  is  to  dethrone  the  law. 
The  man  in  whom  Christ  lives  so  completely  that 
he  is  unconscious  of  a  separate  personality  has 
really  died  out  of  that  other  world  or  form  of  life 
in  which  the  principle  of  law  ruled  over  him,  in 
his  conscious  separation  from  God,  and  held  him 
bound  in  defeat  and  guilt  (cf.   Rom.  vii.   5,  9-11)- 

(2)  There  is  a  living  relation  between  this  actual 
experience  of  Paul  and  the  death  of  Christ  on 
the  cross.  The  relation  is  so  real,  its  effect  so 
marvellous,  that  the  Apostle  is  able  to  say,  "I 
have    been    crucified    with    Christ,"    "  He    gave 


Galatians  ii.  14-21  79 

Himself  up  for  me."  The  relation  is  not  explained 
here  (cf  Gal.  iii.  10-13).  R.V.,  '^and  that  life 
which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  in  faith,  the  faith 
which  is  in  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave 
Himself  up  for  me."  The  new  life  of  conscious  union 
with  God  in  Christ  is  on  his  side  conditioned  only 
by  one  fact,  the  fact  of  his  personal  trust  in  Christ. 
The  claims  of  the  law  are  dead.  He  is  under  no 
obligation  to  consider  the  ancient  legal  enactments 
as  if  they  now  affected  his  standing  before  God. 
That  standing  is  "apart  from  the  law."  Not  that 
there  is  no  righteousness  in  the  Christian  life,  but  it 
comes  in  a  new  way  out  of  a  new  spirit  (Gal.  v.  22). 
Not  that  the  Christian  spirit  is  indifferent  to  right 
and  wrong ;  but  that  the  meaning  of  right  and 
wrong  rises  out  of  a  new  set  of  relations  and  bears 
with  a  new  significance  upon  the  will  of  the  man 
who  is  one  with  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  This 
wonderful  utterance,  one  of  the  greatest  words 
in  all  the  history  of  religious  experience,  rises, 
peak-like,  above  the  range  of  argument.  But 
its  full  meaning,  as  Paul  used  it,  is  understood 
in  relation  to  the  fight  for  liberty  from  that  law, 
whose  tyranny  was  darkening  the  conscience  of 
Peter  and  the  other  Jewish  Christians. 

21.  I  do  not  frustrate.  R.V.,  "I  do  not 
make  void  the  grace  of  God."  Elsewhere  (Rom. 
iv.  4,  5)  he  shows  that  the  principle  of  law  which 
would  make  God  a  debtor  to  man,  and  the 
principle  of  grace  which  would  make  man  a 
debtor  to  God  even  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  are 
hostile  to  one  another.  The  one  must  turn  the 
other  into  vanity.  They  caimot  be  mingled  as 
Peter  and  the  rest  were  trying  to  do.  Paul,  for 
his  part,  will  not  treat  the  grace  of  God  as  if  it 


8o   Westminster  New  Testament 

were  of  no  account,  for  if  ...  in  vain.  R.V., 
"  through  the  law  .  .  .  for  nought."  If  law  is  the 
source  of  righteousness,  then  the  death  of  Christ, 
the  righteous  and  deathless  One,  had  no  meaning. 
In  that  case  Hedied  without  reason — ^^gratuitously" 
(Lightfoot).  It  is  always  assumed  in  the  N.T.  that 
death  had  no  power  over  Christ,  the  sinless  One,  as 
it  has  over  sinners.  His  dying  must,  therefore, 
have  had  a  meaning  beyond  Himself,  and  that 
meaning  is  found  in  the  Atonement,  the  bringing 
of  pardon  to  men. 

Thus  Paul  ends  his  self-defence,  and  the  defence 
of  his  apostolic  authority.  He  has  proved  the 
three  main  points  which  the  Jewish  enemies 
of  his  gospel  disputed,  viz. :  (1)  that  he  was 
directly  appointed  by  God,  as  the  original  apostles 
were  ;  (2)  that  he  had  never  made  any  compromise 
to  "please  men,"  but  had  openly  maintained  his 
gospel,  even  against  the  inconsistent  conduct  of 
Peter ;  (3)  that  the  recognized  leaders  or  "  pillars  " 
really  agreed  with  him,  and  neither  themselves 
preached  any  other  gospel  among  those  of  the 
circumcision,  nor  insisted  that  he  should  change 
his  preaching.  Their  personal  faith  in  Christ  was 
identical  with  his,  their  message  with  his  message. 


Galatians  iii.  i-v.  12  81 


PART  II.  THE  CENTRAL  ARGUMENT— 
THE  LAW  AND  THE  GOSPEL. 

(Gal.  iii.  1-v.  12.) 

In  this  central  portion  of  the  epistle  we  find 
Paul  dealing  directly  with  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  the  gospel  as  he  had  preached  and  would 
still  preach  it  to  the  Galatians,  as  to  all  other  men^ 
whether  Jews  or  Gentiles.  He  does  not  conduct 
a  systematic  argument.  Rather  '^  Paul's  arguments 
here  have  to  a  certain  extent  the  character  of 
reminiscences^  for  they  are  designed  to  rouse 
memories  among  his  readers."  ^  The  exclamation 
"  O  foolish  Galatians "  follows  from  the  previous 
paragraph.  If  Paul's  argument  face  to  face  with 
Peter  was  sounds  and  if  it  represented  the  heart 
of  the  message  which  he  had  preached  to  the 
Galatians ;  if,  further^  Peter  and  the  rest  were 
confessedly  wrong  to  attempt  a  compromise 
between  the  principles  of  the  gospel  and  the  law, 
then  the  Galatians  would  be  indeed  foolish  to 
listen  to  any  allurements  offered  in  name  of  "law." 
But  the  exclamation  leads  on  also  to  the  further 
statement  of  the  case,  which  continues  in  a  series 
of  paragraphs  surcharged  with  vehement  emotion 
down  to  chap.  v.  12.  Throughout  the  successive 
arguments  we  must  try  to  imagine  the  experience 
of  the  Galatians  whom  he  addresses,  and  to  over- 
hear, as  it  were,  the  arguments  of  those  who  are 
undermining  their  faith  in  the  gospel.  The  funda- 
mental paragraphs  set  before  us  the  beginnings  of 
^  Ramsay's  Historical  Commentary,  p.  329. 
6 


82    Westminster  New  Testament 

the  principles  of  law  and  of  faith^  the  divergent 
effects  of  these  in  determining  the  relations  of  men 
to  God,  the  fact  that  the  cross  of  Christ  has  done 
away  with  law  and  established  ffiith  for  ever,  that 
nevertheless  "  law  "  had  a  real  function  and  value 
in  preparing  for  Christ  and  faith,  and  finally,  that 
the  Galatians  would  be  forsaking  the  higher  for 
the  lower,  the  permanent  for  the  temporary,  the 
spiritual  for  the  fleshly,  freedom  for  bondage,  the 
endowment  of  the  Spirit  for  the  inevitable  in- 
debtedness to  the  law,  if  they  allowed  themselves 
the  fatal  experiment  of  assuming  the  obUgations 
implied  in  circumcision.  They  would  simply  have 
"fallen  away  from  grace"  and  be  "severed  from 
Christ." 


Gal.  iii.  1-5. 

I.  THE  GALATIANS  STULTIFYING 
THEMSELVES. 

1  O  foolish  Galatians,  who  hath  bewitched  you,  that  ye 
should  not  obey  the  truth,  before  whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ 

2  hath  been  evidently  set  forth,  crucified  among  you  ?  This 
only  would  I  learn  of  you.  Received  ye  the  Spirit  by  the 

3  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ?  Are  ye  so 
foolish  ?  having  begun  in   the  Spirit,    are   ye   now   made 

4  perfect  by  the  flesh  ?     Have  ye  suffered  so  many  things  in 

5  vain  ?  if  it  be  yet  in  vain.  He  therefore  that  ministereth 
to  you  the  Spirit,  and  worketh  miracles  among  you,  doeth 
he  it  by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ? 

This  paragraph  consists  of  a  series  of  abrupt 
challenging  questions  addressed  to  the  Galatians. 
The  Apostle  feels  the  power  of  the  argument 
which    he    has    just    closed,   and   turns    to    these 


Galatians  iii.  1-5  83 

Churches  as  one  who  is  astonished^  perplexed,  and 
grieved  that  their  minds  had  become  confused  as 
to  the  principles  at  stake.  Each  question  bears 
directly  upon  their  own  experience  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  which  ought  to  have  prevented  them 
from  being  confused  and  misled  by  the  arguments 
of  the  Judaizers  among  them. 

1.  O  foolish  Galatians.  An  exclamation  partly 
of  condemnation  and  partly  of  pity.  They  seem 
to  him  to  have  acted  unreasonably,  without  ^^nous  " 
or  sound  wisdom.  The  attempt  of  some  commen- 
tators, on  the  supposition  that  these  Galatians  w^ere 
Celts,  to  find  here  an  illusion  to  Celtic  waywardness 
or  witlessness,  is  just  neither  to  the  historic  facts 
(if  these  churches  were  in  South  Galatia)  nor  to  the 
Celtic  temperament.  On  Pauline  use  of  this  word, 
cf.  Rom.  i.  14 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  9  ;  Tit.  iii.  3.  that  .  .  . 
truth.  Omitted  in  R.V.  who  hath  bewitched 
you.  R.V.,  ^'^did  bewitch."  These  Churches  act 
as  if  they  had  been  fascinated,  swept  out  of  the 
control  of  their  reason,  by  the  spell  of  "an  evil 
eye."  before  whose  eyes  . .  .  among  you.  R.V., 
'^openly  set  forth  crucified."  The  word  for  "set 
forth "  is,  Lightfoot  says,  "  the  common  word  to 
describe  all  public  notices  or  proclamations."  The 
preaching  of  Paul  had  vividly  described  the  cruci- 
fixion of  Christ  as  an  event  of  permanent  power. 
He  had  proclaimed  it  as  an  act  of  God's  govern- 
ment which  concerned  all  men,  and  to  whose 
authority  all  must  give  heed.  Who  had  drawn 
away  their  gaze  frorn  that  proclamation  and  ob- 
scured its  meaning  for  them  ? 

2.  learn  of  you.  R.V.,  "  learn  from  you."  This 
is  one  of  the  cardinal  points  in  the  whole  argument. 
(Cf.  ver.  14;  also  iv.  6,  29,  v.  l6fr.)     They  had  re- 


84   Westminster  New  Testament 

ceived  the  Spirit  unmistakably  and  confessedly. 
The  signs  of  His  power  were  manifest  among  them 
(ver.  5).  And  the  Apostle,  as  it  were,  stakes  all  ("  this 
only  would  I  learn  ")  on  this  one  question,  whether 
it  was  on  the  principle  of  law,  or  through  that 
message  which  both  demanded  and  evoked  their 
faith,  that  the  Divine  life  thus  entered  into  their 
lives.  Paul  assumes  in  various  passages  that  all 
confessed  Christians  have  the  Spirit.  It  is  not  a 
doctrinal  deduction,  but  an  observed  fact  of  experi- 
ence (cf.  Rom.  viii.  2-l6;  1  Cor.  xii.  13;  2  Cor.  1. 
21  f.;  Eph.  i.  13  f.). 

3.  Repeating  the  word  about  their  folly,  he  at- 
tacks an  excuse  which  he  seems  to  overhear  their 
false  teachers  suggesting.  "  Faith "  is  necessary 
as  a  preliminary  step,  they  seemed  to  say,  but  law 
is  needed  for  perfection  or  a  real  adult  life.  They 
were  accustomed  to  the  idea  of  stages  in  the 
spiritual  life,  from  mystic  religions  around  them, 
and  it  might  well  be  a  "  bewitching  "  or  fascinating 
idea  to  suggest  that  Paul  had  given  these  Gentiles 
the  first  steps  of  initiation,  but  that  full  and  perfect 
illumination  was  to  be  found  in  other  doctrines 
than  his  !  From  Rom.  ii.  20  it  would  appear  that 
the  Jews  generally  took  a  superior  tone  towards 
Gentiles,  treating  them  not  as  adults  (perfect)  but 
as  babes,  in  the  flesh.  These  mystic  religions 
taught  asceticism,  drew  the  painful  treatment  of 
the  body  into  their  requirements  for  "perfection." 
Perhaps  circumcision  might  be  so  described  and 
recommended. 

4.  Paid  meets  this  subtle  suggestion  with  a 
counter  challenge.  They  had  suffered  severe  per- 
secution (cf.  Acts  xiii.  50,  51,  xiv.  1-22;  2  Tim. 
ill.   11).     Was  it  all  for  nought.?     if  it  be  yet  in 


Galatians  iii.  6-9  85 

vain.  R.V.,  "if  it  be  indeed  in  vain."  Pathetic 
words  from  the  heart.  He  is  uncertain  how  far 
they  have  gone  back,  but  cannot  allow  himself  to 
believe  that  his  worst  fears  (cf.  iv.  8-11)  are 
justified. 

5.  He  returns  to  their  actual  possession  of  the 
Spirit  (ver.  2)  for  comfort  of  his  fears  and  challenge 
of  their  intelligence.  God  still  '^^  supplies  "  (R.V.) 
the  Spirit,  and  shows  miraculous  powers  among 
them — and  they  know  full  well  that  this  comes  not 
from  their  legal  obedience  but  from  their  faith. 

6.  it  was  accounted  {margin  imputed).  R.V., 
"it  was  reckoned."  Paul,  as  it  were,  hears  the 
one  answer  to  all  his  questions — "  By  faith."  And 
he  replies — "  Yes,  by  such  faith  as  Abraham  had  " 
(Gen.  XV.  6  (Septuagint).  Cf.  Rom.  iv.  3 ; 
Jas.  ii.  23). 


Gal.  iii.  6-9. 

2.  THE  LAW  OF  FAITH  EXEMPLIFIED 
BY  ABRAHAM. 

6  Even  as  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  accounted  to 

7  him  for  righteousness.  Know  ye  therefore  that  they 
which  are  of  faith,  the  same  are  the  children  of  Abraham. 

8  And  the  Scripture,  foreseeing  that  God  would  justify  the 
heathen  through   faith,   preached   before   the   gospel  unto 

9  Abraham,  saying,  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed.  So 
then  they  which  be  of  faith  are  blessed  with  faithful 
Abraham. 

The  two  fundamental  facts  on  which  the  argu- 
ment here  is  based  are :  (1)  that  God  made  a 
promise  to  Abraham  to  the  effect  that  through  him 
a  Divine  blessing  should  be  inherited  by  "  all  the 


86    Westminster  New  Testament 

nations"  (but  how  could  people  "inherit"  except 
from  an  ancestor  ?)  ;  (2)  that  this  promise  has  been 
fulfilled  ;  for  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  blessing  of 
God  has  come  upon  all  who  enter  into  the  life  of 
faith  towards  Jesus  Christ.  Evidently  there  are 
two  further  points  to  be  established  before  the  full 
significance  of  these  facts  can  be  made  clear.  The 
Jlrst  is  that  what  believers  in  Christ  enjoy  is  a 
supreme  gift  of  God^  the  very  blessing  promised 
through  Abraham  to  all  nations.  The  second  is 
that  a  relation  of  continuity  can  be  traced  between 
the  faith  of  Abraham  and  that  of  Christian  be- 
lievers. These  are  discussed  in  the  following 
paragraph  (vers.  15-22),  but  they  must  be  kept  in 
mind  that  we  may  appreciate  the  direction  of 
thought  in  this  paragraph  (vers.  7-14). 

7.  Know  ye  therefore.  Whether  we  read  it 
thus  or  in  the  present  tense,  "  Ye  know  therefore," 
there  is  implied  an  appeal  to  facts  which  the 
Galatians  have  already  been  taught,  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  which  they  have  not  grasped,  of  faith. 
Faith  is  not  a  single  act  but  a  permanent  attitude 
of  the  whole  person  towards  its  object.  From 
that  attitude  the  life  flows,  through  it  all  relations 
are  determined.  Cf.  the  Johannine  phrase  "of 
the  truth"  (l  John  iii.  19).  "Those  of  faith" 
here  means,  those  whose  position  before  God  is 
fixed  by  their  faith  ;  they  are  justified,  they  stand 
as  righteous  before  Him.  the  same.  The  word  is 
very  emphatic,  meaning  "  these  and  none  others." 
Even  those  who  are  descended  from  Abraham 
according  to  the  flesh  are  excluded  if  they  have  not 
faith,  children  of  Abraham.  R.V.,  "  sons "  (cf 
Matt.  iii.  9;  John  viii.  SS-59).  "Paul's  thought 
is  this :  the  adopted  heir  succeeds  to  the  religious 


Galatians  iii.  6-9  87 

obligations  and  position  of  the  deceased.  Con- 
versely, he  who  succeeds  to  the  religious  position 
of  any  man  is  his  son  ...  He  who  succeeds  to 
the  faith  of  Abraham  is  the  son  of  Abraham" 
(Ramsay,  Ep.  to  Galatians,  p.  341). 

8.  And  the  Scripture.  The  personification  of 
the  written  word  was  not  uncommon  among  the 
Jews,  but  this  instance  goes  beyond  the  usual 
formulae  of  reference  to  the  O.T.  As  if  the 
sacred  writing  were  in  each  part  of  it  a  living  being, 
able  to  "foresee"  the  purpose  of  God  (cf.  the 
great  passage,  Heb.  iv.  12,  13,  as  it  arises  out  of  the 
preceding  O.T.  quotation).  And  has  the  force  of 
"  moreover,"  not  continuing  but  varying  the  point 
of  view  from  ver.  7.  WOuld  justify.  R.V.  margin, 
"justifieth."  It  is  God's  permanent  principle  of 
action,  the  heathen.  R.V., '^  Gentiles."  The  true 
translation  is  that  of  the  R.V.  mai'gin,  "nations," 
as  Paul  is  thinking  of  the  Divine  purpose  towards  all 
peoples,  and  not  towards  the  Gentiles  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Jews,  preached  before  the 
gospel.  R.V.,  "preached  the  gospel  beforehand." 
When  God  attached  His  blessing  to  the  act  of 
faith,  He  began  the  history  of  the  gospel,  whose 
consummation  has  been  reached  in  Christ.  Does 
it  follow  that  wheresoever  among  men  we  find  any 
measure  of  "  faith  "  there  we  may  expect  to  find 
a  corresponding  measure  of  "the  blessing"  .f* 
all  nations.  R.V.,  "all  the  nations."  The 
quotation  is  a  fusion  of  two  passages — Gen.  xii.  3 
and  xviii.  18.  Even  some  Jewish  commentators 
had  seen  that  this  blessing  must  be  something 
spiritual,  for  "all  the  nations"  could  not  inherit 
the  promised  land.  Their  imagination  was  lifted 
by  the  great  and  striking  words  to  conceive  of  some 


88   Westminster  New  Testament 

inheritance  from  God  through  Abraham  which  all 
peoples  might  possess. 

9.  This  is  not  a  mere  repetition  of  ver.  7.  There 
it  is  "  sonship  "  which  is  asserted ;  here  it  is  the 
possession  of  a  common  boon,  "  the  blessing." 
The  point  to  be  proved  is  that  Christians  are  the 
only  true  "sons  of  Abraham."  It  can  be  proved 
only  by  their  possession  of  "  the  blessing "  which 
was  promised  to  all  nations  in  him.  But  since  the 
blessing  which  he  enjoyed  was  that  of  righteous- 
ness, or  justification  (ver.  6)  through  faith,  those 
who  now  are  likewise  justified  by  faith  do  actually 
share  his  blessing. 


Gal.  iii.  10-14. 

3.  THE  CURSE  OF  THE  LAW,  AND  THE 
REDEEMER. 

10  For  as  many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under  the 
curse  :  for  it  is  written,  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth 
not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to 

11  do  them.  But  that  no  man  is  justified  by  the  law  in  the 
sight  of  Godj  it  is  evident :  for,  The  just  shall  live  by  faith. 

12  And  the  law  is  not  of  faith  :  but.  The  man  that  doeth  them 

13  shall  live  in  them.  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us  :  for  it  is  written, 

14  Cttrsed  is  every  one  that  Jiangeth  on  a  tree :  that  the 
blessing  of  Abraham  might  come  on  the  Gentiles  through 
Jesus  Christ  ;  that  we  might  receive  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit  through  faith. 

The  Apostle  is  dealing  with  those  who  maintain 
that  the  law  is  still  supreme  even  over  believers, 
and  that  only  men  who  obey  it  are  served  heirs  to 


Galatians  iii.  10-14  89 

the  covenant  of  Abraham^  even  though  they  accept 
Jesus  as  Messiah  and  Saviour.  Paul  now  turns  to 
deal  them  a  sudden  and  shattering  blow.  Two 
facts  are  set  down  ;  first,  that  the  law  brings  only 
a  curse  to  them  who  accept  its  authority  (and  this 
by  its  very  nature  as  law,  ver.  21);  second,  that 
Christ  by  His  death  has  at  once  removed  this  curse 
from  those  who  were  under  the  law,  and  opened 
another  fountainhead  from  which  "  the  blessing  of 
Abraham  "  has  flowed  out  upon  the  nations. 

10.  Those  who  get  their  standing  "  from  works 
of  law"  instead  of  ^^  from  faith"  stand  not  under  a 
blessing,  but  "  under  a  curse."  In  support  of  this 
terrific  word  the  Apostle  cites  in  this  and  the  two 
following  verses  three  O.T.  passages  :  (l)  In  ver.  10 
from  Deut.  xxvii.  26  where  these  words  form  the 
climax  and  summary  of  the  ^^  curses  "  pronounced 
from  Mount  Ebal.  The  Apostle  varies  the 
quotation  "in  the  book  of  the  law,"  instead  of 
"the  words  of  this  law,"  to  make  the  "curse" 
apply  to  all  who  break  any  part  of  the  whole  law 
and  not  only  those  portions  recited  in  the  special 
resume  given  on  Mount  Ebal  (Deut.  xxvii.  15-25). 
The  writer  assumes  that  no  one  can  claim  to 
have  fulfilled  the  whole  law.  Therefore  no  one 
is  free  of  "the  curse."  (Cf.  James  ii.  10.) 
(2)  In  ver.  11.  Here  a  passage  is  cited  (cf. 
Rom.  1.  17 ;  Heb.  x.  38)  to  prove  that  even  in  O.T. 
faith  is  recognized  as  the  ground  of  justification. 
The  words  of  Habakkuk  ii.  4  in  the  Hebrew 
referred  to  the  deliverance  of  the  Jews  from  the 
power  of  their  Chaldean  enemies  and  invaders,  so 
that  "  the  righteous  shall  live  by  his  faithfulness." 
The  Septuagint  has  two  readings  :  "  my  righteous 
one  shall  live  by  faith,"  or  "faithfulness,"  and  "the 


90    Westminster  New  Testament 

righteous  man  shall  live  by  my  faithfulness." 
(3)  In  ver.  12.  Quoting  Lev.  xviii.  5  the  Apostle 
insists  that  the  words  "  he  that  doeth  them  (viz., 
my  statutes  and  my  judgments)  shall  live  in  them/' 
imply  that  a  strict  obedience  is  demanded  as  the 
condition  of  life  ;  and  this  is  the  opposite  principle 
to  that  of  "  faith."  The  legal  principle  demanding 
flawless  personal  righteousness  is  inwardly  and 
essentially  diverse  from  the  principle  of  grace, 
conferring  righteousness  through  faith. 

13,  14.  In  these  two  verses  the  central  objective 
or  historical  fact  of  the  Christian  gospel,  and  the 
central  subjective  or  experienced  result  of  that  fact, 
are  stated  in  relation  to  the  law  and  its  desolate 
effect.  (1)  The  "  curse  of  the  law,"  which  rested  on 
all  because  all  had  failed,  has  been  removed.  The 
Apostle  is  thinking  primarily  of  the  Jews  who  had 
groaned  so  long  under  the  intolerable  burden  of 
the  legal  principle  (cf  Rom.  vii.  9,  24) ;  and  the 
word  "redeemed"  implies  that  they  have  been 
bought  out  of  slavery,  being  made  a  curse 
for  us.  R.V.,  "having  become."  The  death  of 
Christ  had  innumerable  relations,  which  all  the 
theories  of  the  Atonement  have  not  exhausted. 
The  Apostle  here  sets  it  in  relation  to  the  very 
real  "  curse  of  the  law."  Christ,  who  had  ful- 
filled the  law  and  personally  stood  outside  its 
curse,  by  the  very  mode  of  His  death  came 
under  that  curse.  He  "  became  a  curse  for  us " 
— that  is,  for  those  who  were  "  of  the  law,"  and 
therefore  in  bondage  and  forlorn.  This  violent 
phrase  must  be  compared  with  2  Cor.  v.  21. 
It  is  supported  by  an  appeal  to  "the  law"  itself 
in  Deut.  xxi.  23.  In  this  quotation  Paul  "  instinc- 
tively omits  "  the  words  "  by  God  "  which  occur  in 


Galatians  iii.  10-14  91 

that  passage.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  every 
strict  Jew  would  have  admitted  the  full  force  of 
this  quotation.  Perhaps  the  rulers  had  betrayed 
Jesus  to  the  Romans  for  the  express  purpose  of 
extinguishing  faith  in  His  claims  by  the  force  of 
that  very  law.  Paul  here  turns  the  argument 
against  them.  Christ  did  come  under  that  dread 
curse  of  the  law^  but  He  did  so  "for  us."  (2)  The 
transcendent  purpose  of  that  awful  transaction 
was  this,  that  (U.V.)  "  upon  the  Gentiles  might 
come  the  blessing  of  Abraham  in  Christ  Jesus." 
By  taking  on  Himself  with  redemptive  force 
the  curse  of  the  law,  He  reopened  the  sealed 
fountain,  he  threw  human  relations  with  God 
back  upon  the  conditions  established  by  the 
Divine  Grace  with  Abraham,  and  with  mankind  in 
him.  that  we  .  .  .  through  faith.  The  effect 
of  that  transaction  is  an  actual  thing.  Men  have 
really  received  the  supreme  boon,  the  uttermost 
blessing  possible  in  this  world,  the  gift  in  their 
own  hearts  and  lives  of  the  very  Spirit  of  God. 
(cf.  iii.  2,  3,  5,  v.  l6  ff.).  That  is  the  glorious  form  in 
which  the  promise  to  Abraham  (ver.  8)  has  been 
fulfilled  to  Jew  and  Gentile  alike. 

Paul  has  now  answered  for  them  the  challenging 
question  of  ver.  2.  Christ's  relation  to  the  law  and 
its  curse  has  made  it  possible  for  the  Galatians  to 
receive  the  Spirit  apart  from  law  through  obedience 
to  the  gospel  of  faith. 


92    Westminster  New  Testament 


Gal.  iii.  15-22. 

4.  COVENANT  AND  PROMISE,  LAW  AND 
GOSPEL. 

(a)  Covenant  and  Promise  (vers.  15-18). 

15  Brethren,  I  speak  after  the  manner  of  men  ;  Though  it  be 
but  a  man's  covenant,  yet  if  it  be  confirmed,  no  man  dis- 

16  annulleth,  or  addeth  thereto.  Now  to  Abraham  and  his 
seed  were  the  promises  made.  He  saith  not,  And  to 
seeds,  as  of  many  ;  but  as  of  one,  And  to  thy  seed,  which  is 

17  Christ.  And  this  I  say,  that  the  covenant,  that  was  con- 
firmed before  God  in  Christ,  the  law,  which  was  four 
hundred  and  thirty  years  after,    cannot   disannul,  that  it 

18  should  make  the  promise  of  none  effect.  For  if  the  inherit- 
ance be  of  the  law,  it  is  no  more  of  promise ;  but  God 
gave  it  to  Abraham  by  promise. 

Paul  has  to  meet  an  argument  which  it  was  open 
to  his  opponents  to  urge,  viz.,  that  as  the  law  was 
given  by  God  later  than  the  promise  it  was  superior 
to,  might  even  supersede,  it.  (1)  The  whole  subject 
has  been  viewed  in  the  light  of  "  sonship  "  (ver.  7) 
and  ^^inheritance"  (vers.  8,  14).  These  are  facts 
common  to  humanity,  and  in  most  civilized 
communities  distinct  statutes  define  them  in  their 
mutual  relations  by  public  law.  He  will  therefore 
appeal  to  human  custom  as  it  obtained  among  and 
was  fcimiliar  to  his  Galatian  readers.  (2)  As  they 
knew,  a  man's  will  when  it  became  a  formal 
instrument  for  the  purpose  of  legalizing  the 
adoption  of  a  son,  named  the  conditions  of  his 
adoption  and  the  kind  and  amount  of  his  inheritance. 
(Sir  William  Ramsay  has  proved  that  in  writing  to 
the   Galatians   Paul  cites  the  Greek  law  as  it  ob- 


Galatians  iii.  15-18 


93 


tained  in  that  region  at  that  time — Historical 
Commentary  on  Galatians,  §xxxv.)  (3)  The  covenant 
with  Abraham  partook  of  the  nature  of  a  will  in 
that  it  determined  the  conditions  of  sonship  and 
inheritance  for  tlie  patriarch.  (4)  Those  conditions 
werC;,  therefore,  unalterable  and  could  not  have 
been  modified  by  the  advent  of  "the  law" 
centuries  later.  The  promise  could  not  be  revoked, 
and  hence  the  inheritance  (which  has  now  been 
realized  by  the  Church  of  Christ)  has  no  dependence 
upon  fulfilment  of  the  law,  but  is  the  overflow  of 
that  free  grace  which  first  spoke  in  the  promise  to 
Abraham. 

15.  Brethren.  The  stern  tone  of  ver.  1  is 
suddenly  abandoned.  The  heart  of  Paul  has 
realized  as  he  gazed  into  the  glory  of  the  promise 
and  the  inheritance,  that  the  "middle  wall  of 
partition,"  which  was  the  law  (Eph.  ii.  14,  15) 
has  been  broken  down  ;  both  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
"we,"  are  all  sons  of  Abraham  (cf.  iv.   31,  v.    1). 

after    the    manner    of   men.    An   appeal  to 

human  analogy,  to  the  customs  with  which  the 
Galatians  were  familiar,  covenant.  R.V.  margin, 
"testament."  disannuUeth.  R.V.,  "maketh  it 
void." 

16.  The  argument  in  this  verse  turns  upon  a 
point  which  is  apt  to  carry  no  conviction  to  our 
modern  minds.  But  it  is  a  mistake  to  call  it 
"  Rabbinism,"  as  if  only  Jewish  scholars  used  this 
method.  The  search  for  deep  meanings  in 
grammatical  structures  and  in  fanciful  derivations 
of  words  was  practised  even  by  the  greatest  of 
ancient  philosophers,  and  was  by  no  means  con- 
fined to  Jewish  scholars.  A  man  may  be  far  in 
advance  of  his  day  in  moral  and  spiritual  insight, 


94   Westminster  New  Testament 

while  his  methods  of  argument  and  exposition  are 
those  in  use  around  him.  So  was  it  with  the 
Apostle,  and  to  thy  seed  (cf.  Gen.  xiii.  15, 
xvii.  8).  It  has  been  urged  that  Paul  here  appeals 
to  a  grammatical  absurdity  in  that  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  words  for  ^^seed"  could  not  be  used  in 
the  plural  (seeds)  to  signify  the  individual  de- 
scendants of  a  man.  The  Apostle,  to  whom  both 
languages  were  native,  must  have  known  this.  He 
is  merely  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
promises  are  made  regarding  "  the  seed,"  taken  in 
a  collective  and  unitary  sense.  But  for  him,  as 
for  some  Jewish  theologians,  the  Messiah  or  Christ 
sums  up  in  Himself  the  race  of  Abraham,  and  he 
feels  free  to  apply  to  Him  what  was  first  spoken  of 
the  whole  people  whose  Head  and  Representative 
He  has  become.  We  ought,  therefore,  to  admit 
that  this  argument,  which  is  remote  from  our  ways 
of  thought,  v/as  no  mere  arbitrary  fancy,  but  a 
legitimate  piece  of  reasoning  for  the  men  of  his 
day. 

17.  in  Christ.  These  words  are  rightly  omitted 
in  R.V.  the  law,  which  was  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  after,  cannot  disannul.  R.V., 
^'^  which  came  .  .  .  doth  not  disannul."  An 
instance  of  the  looseness  with  which  even  in 
Scripture  periods  of  time  were  often  reckoned  by 
the  ancients.  In  Acts  vii.  6  the  bondage  in 
Egypt  is  said  to  have  lasted  400  years  (cf. 
Ex.  xii.  40,  Gen.  xv.  13).  In  the  Septuagint 
version,  Ex.  xii.  40  is  made  to  include  the  story 
of  the  patriarchs  in  Canaan.  The  Apostle  here 
makes  430  years  stretch  from  the  promise  made  to 
Abraham  down  to  the  giving  of  the  law  of  Moses. 

18.  God  gave    it.    R.V.,    '^^God   hath    granted 


Galatians  iii.  19-22  95 

it."  The  promise  was  a  free  act  of  God's  grace 
and  not  the  reward  of  merit.  It  had  no  relation, 
therefore,  to  the  legal  principle,  the  arrival  of 
which  did  not  and  could  not  annul  the  permanent 
nature  of  that  grant.  Indeed,  the  inheritance 
(cf.  ver.  14)  from  that  unchangeable  promise  is 
now  in  the  actual  possession  of  men  (Christian 
believers)  as  the  outflow  of  that  gift  "  to  Abraham 
by  promise." 


(6)  Lav(7  and  Gospel  (vers.  19-22). 

19  Wherefore  then  serveth  the  law  ?  It  was  added  because 
of  transgressions,  till  the  seed  should  come  to  whom  the 
promise  was  made  ;  and  it  was  ordained  by  angels  in  the 

20  hand  of  a  mediator.     Now  a  mediator  is  not  a  mediator  of 

21  one,  but  God  is  one.  Is  the  law  then  against  the  promises 
of  God  ?  God  forbid  :  for  if  there  had  been  a  law  given 
which   could   have   given  life,  verily  righteousness  should 

22  have  been  by  the  law.  But  the  Scripture  hath  concluded 
all  under  sin,  that  the  promise  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ 
might  be  given  to  them  that  believe. 

There  are  two  successive  questions  which  the 
Apostle  hears  his  more  thoughtful  readers,  or  his 
keen-witted  opponents  urging.  (1)  What  was  the 
function  of  the  law  .^  All  were  agreed  that  the 
law  came  from  God.  But  it  was  hard  to  see  what 
the  Divine  purpose  had  been  in  ordaining  that 
great  system,  and  Paul  sets  out  to  state  it.  His 
answer  is  that  "  it  was  added  because  of  trans- 
gressions." It  was,  as  it  were,  a  form  of  interim 
administration.  (2)  But  in  that  case  did  the  law 
counteract  the  promise  ?  By  no  means.  Rather 
did  it  actually  further  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise. 


96   Westminster  New  Testament 

and  lead  up  to  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ.  By- 
closing  finally  and  forever  the  door  by  which  men 
might  try  to  force  a  personally  merited  entrance 
into  life^  it  concentrated  attention  (^"  shut  up  unto 
the  faith  ")  upon  the  door  which  grace  has  opened 
and  which  only  faith  can  enter. 

19.  Wherefore  then  serveth  the  law  ?   U.V., 

"  What  then  is  the  law  ?  " — the  correct  translation. 

It  was  added  because  of  transgressions,  not 

as  a  modification  of  the  promise  (cf.  ver.  15),  but  as 
a  fresh  mode  of  dealing  with  the  situation.  The 
meaning  of  the  phrase  "  because  of  transgressions  " 
has  been  much  disputed.  There  is  no  real  need  of 
the  dispute.  For  it  is  in  itself  a  simple  affirmation 
that  the  law  was  given  because  as  a  fact  trans- 
gressions were  there.  What  relation  it  had  to 
these  transgressions  is  only  to  be  learned  later 
(vers.  22,  23).    and  it  was  .  .  .  mediator.  R.V., 

"Through  angels  by  the  hand  of  a  mediator." 
(Cf  Deut.  xxxiii.  2  ;  Acts  vii.  53  ;  Heb.  ii.  2.)  The 
Jewish  theologians  had  in  the  times  of  Christ 
built  up  an  elaborate  angelology,  or  doctrine  of 
angels,  from  a  very  few  hints  in  the  O.T.  The 
more  distant  and  unapproachable  they  conceived 
Jehovah  to  be,  the  more  did  they  feel  the  need  of 
intermediate  beings  through  whom  He  was  sup- 
posed to  act  upon  human  life.  The  N.T. 
references  to  angels  as  mediators  of  Divine  action 
are  comparatively  rare  (except  in  the  Revelation 
of  St.  John).  The  person  of  Christ  and  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  well  as  the  close  and  direct 
action  of  God  the  Father,  blotted  out  this  need  of 
angelic  mediators,  so  far  as  man's  faith  and  worship 
are  concerned. 

20.  There   are   actually    hundreds    of    differing 


Galatians  iii.  19-22  97 

interpretations  of  this  most  obscure  utterance. 
Nowadays  no  commentator  speaks  of  it  with  any 
confidence.  The  points  of  difficulty  are :  (1)  why 
we  are  reminded  that  a  mediator  deals  not  with 
one  but  (presumably)  with  two  parties  in  a 
transaction;  (2)  why  we  are  reminded  that  God 
is  one ;  (3)  why  the  latter  statement  is  set  in 
contrast  with  the  former.  Whatever  were  the 
hidden  steps  in  the  Apostle's  mind^  the  outstanding 
fact  to  be  emphasized  is  that  it  is  the  same  God, 
God  is  one,  who  gave  the  promise  directly,  and 
later  gave  the  law  through  a  mediator. 

21.  In  declaring  that  the  coming  of  the  law  did 
not  destroy  the  validity  of  the  promise,  the  Apostle 
appeals  to  a  general  principle.  What  we  are  in 
search  of  is  a  way  of  attaining  "life"  or  "right- 
eousness." If  a  law  had  been  given  which  had 
the  power  of  conferring  this,  the  promise  would,  of 
course,  have  faded  away.  Obedience  to  that  law 
and  not  faith  in  the  promised  grace  would  have 
reigned  over  us. 

22.  But  the  Scripture  .  .  .  under  sin.   R.V., 

"Howbeit  the  Scripture  hath  shut  up  all  things 
under  sin."  For  "but"  we  had  better  translate 
"  on  the  contrary,"  to  bring  out  the  full  force  of  the 
adversative,  the  Scripture.  Either  the  general 
effect  of  the  O.T.  (cf  citations  in  Rom.  iii.  10-18) 
or,  as  Lightfoot  holds,  some  particular  passage 
like  Ps.  cxliii.  2  (cf  Gal.  ii.  l6)  or  Deut.  xxvii.  26 
(cf.  Gal.  iii.  10).  hath  concluded, — i.e.  they  are 
all  shut  up  conclusively,  without  power  of  escape. 
The  neuter  "  all  things  "  must  mean  the  whole 
race  (cf  John  vi.  37,  R.V.). 

The  phrase  in  ver.  19  "because  of  trans- 
gressions "  is  now   partially  explained.       The   law 

7 


98   Westminster  New  Testament 

came  to  "shut  them  up" — that  iSj  to  make  them 
aware  that  sin  had  complete  control  of  then*  life, 
and  that  no  hope  for  man  could  be  found  save  in 
some  act  of  Divine  grace.  When  that  grace  came 
in  Jesus  Christ,  the  law  was  exposed  both  in 
its  weakness  (Rom.  viii.  3)  and  in  its  ordained 
purpose  (Rom.  vii.  13). 

Gal.  iii.  23-29. 

5.  LAW  AND  FAITH— "TUTOR"  AND 
CHRIST. 

23  But  before  faith  came,  we  were  kept  under  the  law,  shut 
up   unto   the  faith  which  should  afterwards  be   revealed. 

24  Wherefore  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto 

25  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith.  But  after  that 
faith   is   come,  we   are  no  longer  under   a   schoolmaster. 

26  For  ye  are  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus. 

27  For  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have 

28  put  on  Christ.  There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is 
neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female  : 

29  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  if  ye  be  Christ's, 
then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise. 

The  use  of  the  word  for  ^^shut  up"  in  ver.  22 
suggests  the  idea  of  a  prison  (ver.  23).  But  that 
immediately  suggests  that  the  warden  in  this 
instance  was  no  mere  gaoler,  holding  a  man  only 
for  doom,  but  a  moral  supervisor  and  guide  pre- 
paring for  life.  The  law,  as  God's  ordinance,  by 
its  very  work  of  rebuke  and  revelation  of  sin 
prepared  for  the  great  Remover  of  sin,  for  the 
new  principle  under  which  righteousness  should  be 
brought  in,  namely,  faith.     With  much  energy  and 


Galatians  iii.  23-29  99 

passion  the  Apostle  then  summarizes  the  situation 
of  those  upon  whom  the  great  era  of  faith  has 
come.  They  are  free  from  control  of  the  ^^  tutor  " 
which  is  "  the  law."  They  are  sons  of  God,  with- 
out distinction  of  race  or  sex  or  social  condition. 
They  are  united  in  a  new  life,  so  intimately,  so 
inwardly,  that  they  all  are  as  "  one  man."  But  if 
this  is  the  effect  of  Christ  upon  them,  then  they 
can  trace  this  new  manhood  back  to  Abraham  in 
the  continuous  unfolding  of  God's  will.  They  are 
spiritually  descended  from  him,  and  their  glorious 
condition  is  the  real  inheritance  of  that  ancient 
promise  made  to  him  by  God. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that,  whereas  in  the  preceding 
arguments  attention  has  been  fastened  mainly  upon 
the  inheritance  (faith,  promise),  in  the  following 
paragraphs  it  is  the  sonship  which  is  under  direct 
discussion. 

23.  But  before  faith  came.   R.V.  margin, "  the 

faith."  In  this  and  the  following  verses  we  have 
a  good  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  the  word 
"  faith "  began  its  rich  and  varied  history  as  a 
Christian  term.  It  is  referred  to  as  (1)  a  general 
principle  (vers.  23,  25),  (2)  a  personal  act  (ver.  24, 
26).  It  is  easy  to  see  how  it  would  pass  over  into 
a  name  for  the  Christian  religion,  in  which  both 
belief  and  trust  are  united  into  a  living  faith,  as 
the  meeting-point  of  man's  supreme  need  and 
God's  supreme  grace,  we  were  kept  under. 
R.V.,  ^'^we  were  kept  inward  under."  shut  Up 
unto.  Better  to  translate,  '^'  having  been  shut  up 
unto,"  to  bring  out  the  fact  that  this  was,  as  it 
were,  the  final  and  permanent  effect  of  the  law. 

24.  was  our  schoolmaster.  R.V., ''  hath  been 
our  tutor."     Neither   of  these    terms  exactly  de- 


loo   Westminster  New  Testament 

scribes  the  function  of  the  Greek  ^'  pedagogue " 
who  was  put  in  charge  of  the  moral  training  of  the 
child.  He  was  not  the  teacher,  nor  a  mere 
assistant  of  the  teacher,  but  a  guardian  of  his 
conduct.  Thus  the  law  had  a  limited,  though 
most  useful,  place  in  the  providential  guidance  of 
Israel  "unto  Christ." 

25,  26.  Perhaps  there  is  a  glance  here  at  the 
suggestion  of  iii.  3.  Perfection,  the  life  of  the 
full-grown  man,  is  reached  when  faith  is  attained. 
The  law  is  for  a  juvenile  period  of  history, 
children  of  God.  R.V.,  "sons  of  God."  The 
deliberate  use  of  the  word  for  "  sons  "  instead  of 
"  children  "  is  meant  to  emphasize  the  point.  It 
is  not  under  the  law  but  through  faith  that  they 
have  entered  the  liberty  of  sons  who  have  passed 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  severe  and  restraining 
"pedagogue."  If  any  verse  in  the  N.T.  can  be 
said  to  express  the  "  essence  of  Christianity  "  it 
is  this  ver.  26.  It  is  not  an  abstract,  theoretical 
summary  of  qualities.  It  is  the  description  of 
that  actual  experience,  that  relationship  with 
God,  which  has  created,  and  is  the  fundamental 
constitutive  fact  in,  a  community  of  human  beings. 

27.  as  have  been  baptized  .  .  .  have  put 

on.  R.V,,  "as  were  baptized  .  .  .  did  put  on." 
In  the  act  of  baptism  they  did  "  all  "  enter  into  a 
new  relation  with  Christ,  which  is  doubly  ex- 
pressed by  the  phrases  "into  Christ"  and  "did 
put  on  Christ "  (cf.  Rom,  vi.  3,  4). 

28.  there  is  neither  male  nor  female.   R.V., 

"there  can  be  no  male  and  female."  This  is 
more  than  a  mere  statement  of  fact  that 
there  are  no  distinctions  of  race  or  class  in  the 
Church    of    Christ.     It   is   an   emphatic   assertion 


Galatians  iii.  23-29      .    loi 

that  in  the  nature  of  things  these  distinctions 
have  no  place  there.  The  unparalleled  univer- 
sality or  liberty  of  the  gospel  shines  out.  The 
extremes  of  racial  antagonism^  of  social  separation, 
even  the  fundamental  physical  distinction  of  sex 
are  ignored.  That  which  lies  deeper  than  all 
these — the  human  nature,  the  moral  self,  the 
spiritual  being  that  is  common  to  all — that  is  the 
material  with  which  the  gospel  deals.  But  this 
universal  force  produces  a  new  and  ineffable  form 
of  unity,  ye  are  all — in  spite  of  these  histori- 
cal and  physical  distinctions — one  man  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Needless  to  say,  this  "unity"  is  at  once 
a  fact  and  an  ideal.  Like  that  royal  freedom  of 
the  gospel,  this  Divine  unity  of  the  sons  of  God 
is  one  of  those  sublime  forms  of  reality  which  can 
only  be  gradually  realized  by  the  human  heart 
and  the  human  will.  (See  Sir  William  Ramsay's 
Historical  Commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians,  §  xl.) 

29.  The  Apostle's  eloquence  and  soaring  imag- 
ination have  not  made  him  forget  his  argument. 
He  still  keeps  the  descent  from  Abraham  in  view, 
and  here  it  appears  again,  to  warm  his  heart  and 
to  daunt  his  opponents.  For  if  men  can  become 
identified  with  Christ,  so  that  they  are  "in 
Christ,"  have  "put  on  Christ,"  are  even  "part 
of  Christ,"  then  they  have  become  the  "seed  of 
Abraham,"  which  Christ  is  (ver.  l6).  Once  more 
let  it  be  triumphantly  said,  "  Ye  Galatians  are 
already  the  heirs,  the  actual  possessors  of  that 
promise  in  which  God  bound  Himself  to  bless  all 
nations  in  Abraham.  Ye  are  his  true,  because  his 
spiritual,  descendants." 


102    .Westminster  New  Testament 

Gal.  iv.  1-7. 
6.  BOND  SERVICE  AND  SONSHIP. 

1  Now  I  say,  That  the  heir,  as  long  as  he  is  a  child,  differeth 

2  nothing  from  a  servant,  though  he  be  lord  of  all ;  but  is 
under   tutors   and   governors  until  the  time    appointed  of 

3  the  father.     Even  so  we,  when  we  were  children,  were  in 

4  bondage  under  the  elements  of  the  world  :  but  when  the 
fulness  of  the   time  was   come,    God   sent  forth   his  Son, 

5  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them 
that   were   under   the   law,    that    we    might    receive    the 

6  adoption  of  sons.  And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath 
sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying, 

7  Abba,  Father.  Wherefore  thou  art  no  more  a  servant, 
but  a  son  ;  and  if  a  son,  then  an  heir  of  God  through 
Christ. 

In  this  passage,  the  climax  of  the  course  of 
argument  begun  at  ill.  7,  the  Apostle  begins 
characteristically  by  taking  up  the  significant  word 
^' heirs"  in  iii.  29-  He  applies  to  the  case  before 
him  the  law  of  minors  which  seems  to  have 
obtained  among  those  whom  he  addresses.  As, 
for  the  minor  who  is  to  receive  a  large  inheritance, 
persons  are  appointed  to  care  for  him  and  for  his 
property  until  the  age  is  reached  at  which  he 
attains  full  manhood  and  obtains  full  control  of 
his  possessions,  so  has  it  been  for  those  under  the 
law.  They  were  "  infants,"  held  under  control  of 
crude  principles  until  the  set  time  had  come. 
Then  God  sent  His  Son  to  set  them  free  and  bring 
them  into  the  full  rights  of  sonship.  The  full  rights 
are  held  only  by  those  in  whose  hearts  the  Spirit 
of  the  Son  of  God  now  dwells,  awakening  in  them 
the    full    sense    of  trust   and   love    towards   their 


Galatians  iv.  1-7  103 

Father.  Such  men  are  now  at  once  sons  and 
heirs  not  of  Abraham,  but  of  God  Himself,  and 
that  through  Christ  and  Christ  alone. 

1.  The  word  child  means  here  an  "infant" 
in  the  legal  sense,  a  minor.  He  is  in  the  position 
of  a  servant  or  "a  bondservant"  (R.V.).  He  is 
completely  under  the  rule  of  others,  and  has  no 
power  even  over  the  property  of  which  he  is  also 
legally  the  lord  or  owner. 

2.  tutors  and  governors.  R.V.,  "guardians 
and  stewards."  There  is  no  reference  here  to 
the  "  pedagogue "  of  the  preceding  paragraph 
(iii.  24,  25).  In  the  Syrian  Law-book,  which 
Sir  Wm.  Ramsay  believes  to  describe  in  this  matter 
the  statute  law  at  this  time  obtaining  in  South 
Galatia — "a  child  is  subject  to  an  Epitropos 
(^guardian')  up  to  fourteen,  .  .  .  but  the  practical 
management  of  the  property  remains  in  the  hands 
of  a  curator  (f  steward ')  till  the  ward  reaches  the 
age  of  twenty-five  "  {Ep.  to  Gal.,  p.  39S). 

3.  elements  of  the  world.  R.V.,  "rudiments 
of  the  world."  He  boldly  asserts  that  even  the 
Jews  had  been  in  the  position  of  minors,  under  the 
control  of  regulations  and  principles  which,  not 
without  scorn,  he  calls  "rudiments  of  the  world." 
The  word  is  used  in  Heb.  v.  12  for  the  elements, 
the  first  steps,  as  it  were,  in  Christian  instruction  ; 
and  in  2  Pet.  iii.  10,  12  for  the  elements  of  the 
physical  universe.  In  Col.  ii.  8,  20  it  is  used  as 
here  for  elementary  religious  teachings  which 
prescribe  formal  rules  of  conduct  and  of  worship, 
and  are  "of  the  world,"  limited,  material,  and 
external.  That  is  a  state  of  bondage,  for  the 
human  soul — "held  in  bondage"  (R.V.). 

4.  5.  This  great    utterance,  like    Phil.    ii.    5-11, 


I04   Westminster  New  Testament 

2  Cor.  viii.  9^  and  others,  presupposes  the  familiarity 
of  his  readers  with  the  fact  of  the  Incarnation, 
which  the  writer  neither  defends  nor  expounds  in 
this  place.  He  simply  appeals  to  it  to  illuminate 
the  greatness  of  the  deliverance  from  age-long 
bondage  which  Christ  had  brought  to  mankind. 
the  fulness  of  time.  The  primary  reference  is 
to  the  words  of  ver.  2 — "the  time  appointed." 
The  time  was  ripe  when  the  legal  principle  had 
been  fully  tried  out,  when  alike  its  positive  work 
in  the  revelation  of  God's  holy  will,  and  its  negative 
work  in  the  exposure  of  man's  impotence,  had 
been  accomplished.  God  sent  forth  his  Son. 
Beyond  all  question  this  implies  that  the  Son  lived 
with  God  ere  He  was  "  sent  forth  "  (cf.  Rom.  viii.  3). 
made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law.  liV., 
"born  of  a  woman,  born  under  the  law."  There 
is,  of  course,  no  reference  here  to  the  virgin-birth 
of  Jesus.  The  words  mean  that  He  became 
human,  entered  into  the  conditions  of  human 
experience.  That  experience  included  the  burden 
of  the  legal  principle  under  which  human  nature 
was  in  bondage.  tO  redeem.  R.V.,  "that  He 
might  redeem."  To  Him  the  burden  was  no 
bondage.  He  undertook  the  task  as  a  redeemer 
(cf.  iii.  13).  adoption  of  sons.  Paul  recognizes 
that  all  men  are  the  "  offspring "  of  God  (Acts 
xvii.  28,  29)  in  the  sense  that  we  share  His 
spiritual  nature.  But  he  always  reserves  (like  his 
Master)  the  noble  conception  of  sonshij^  for  those 
upon  whom  that  change  of  status  has  come  by 
which  men  enter  into  a  relation  with  God  which 
is  one  of  intimacy  and  moral  resemblance. 

6.  This  new    relation  with  God  is    marked    and 
crowned  by  the   fact   that  the  very  Spirit  of  His 


Galatians  iv.  8--11  105 

Son  dwells  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  become 
sons  (cf.  Eph.  iii,  16,  17).  A  new  consciousness 
has  been  awakened  in  us  (R.V.,  ^^  our  hearts") 
towards  God.  The  awful  and  holy  and  distant 
God  has  drawn  so  near  and  become  so  dear  that 
love  and  confidence  are  poured  out  of  those  hearts 
and  they  break  into  the  cry,  "  Abba,  Father." 
This  double  exclamation  unites  the  Aramaic  word, 
which  Jesus  used,  with  its  Greek  equivalent,  and 
expresses  at  once  the  intensity  and  the  joy  with 
which  this  supreme  relationship  with  God  is  felt 
to  be  a  fact  by  each  individual. 

7.  Note  the  rapid  change  of  the  personal  pro- 
nouns "  them  "  and  '^  we  "  in  ver.  5  ;  ^^  ye  "  and 
"our"  in  ver.  6.  In  this  verse  the  Apostle 
addresses  the  individual  as  if  to  set  forth  the 
deep  personal  experience  and  the  glorious  personal 
standing  of  each  man.  This  verse  is  the  climax 
of  the  whole  argument.  Abraham  as  well  as  the 
law  have  dropped  out  of  sight.  Each  soul  is  face 
to  face  with  God   Himself,  His  son  and  His  heir. 

heir  of  God  through  Christ.  R.V.,  "an  heir 
through  God." 


Gal.  iv.  8-11. 
7.  GOD  OR  "NO  GODS"? 

8  Howbeit  then,  when  ye  knew  not  God,  ye  did  service  unto 

9  them  which  by  nature  are  no  gods.  But  now,  after  that 
ye  have  known  God,  or  rather  are  known  of  God,  how 
turn  ye  again  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements,  where- 

10  unto  ye  desire  again  to  be  in  bondage?     Ye  observe  days. 

1 1  and  months,  and  times,  and  years.     I  am  afraid  of  you, 
lest  I  have  bestowed  upon  you  labour  in  vain. 


io6   Westminster  New  Testament 

Having  at  much  length  discussed  the  general 
principles,  the  Apostle  now  returns  to  the  personal 
aspects  of  the  controversy  in  which  he  is  engaged. 
He  reminds  them  of  their  former  dark  condition 
when  they,  like  the  Jews,  v/ere  in  bondage.  But 
their  bondage  was  to  beings  who  were  not  gods. 
And  now,  having  come  to  the  knowledge  of  God, 
why  should  they  revert  by  the  path  of  the  Jewish 
Jaw  to  their  former  bondage  ?  Obedience  to  that 
law  would  reduce  them  again  to  formal  observances, 
to  the  "  weak  and  beggarly  rudiments  "  from  which 
they  had  been  redeemed.  And  the  Apostle  views 
with  dismay  this  possible  destruction  of  all  his 
labour  of  love  among  them. 

8.  Howbeit  .  .  .  service.  R.V.,  "  Howbeit 
at  that  time  not  knowing  God  ye  were  in 
bondage."  The  question  which  was  left  vague 
in  the  preceding  discussion,  whether  Gentiles 
were  in  a  similar  position  to  the  Jews,  is  now 
directly  and  clearly  determined.  They  were  also 
in  bondage,  no  gods.  There  is  no  reason  why 
this  should  not  have  been  translated  more  liter- 
ally "not  gods."  The  Apostle  held  that  the 
heathen  were  really  worshipping  demons  (cf. 
1   Cor.  X.   20). 

9.  R.V.,  "  But  now  that  ye  have  come  to  know 
God,  or  rather  to  be  known  of  God,  how  turn 
ye  back  again  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  rudiments 
\margin,  elements),  w^hereunto  ye  desire  to  be  in 
bondage  over  again  ?  "  tO  know  God.  The  Greek 
word  here  is  different  from  that  used  in  ver.  8. 
It  implies  more  of  intimacy  and  an  element  of 
spirituality,  as  when  we  distinguish  between  an 
acquaintance  and  a  friend,  or  when  we  say,  "  Yes, 
I  have  met  him,  but  can't  say  I  know  him."     or 


Galatians  iv.  12-20  107 

rather  to  be  known  of  God.  This  makes  their 
position  and  experience  as  Cliristians  very  solemn 
and  any  departure  from  it  very  serious.  For  in  the 
real  knowledge  of  God,  it  is  God  who  has  taken 
the  first  steps  and  made  all  the  rest  possible.  It 
is  an  act  and  gift  of  God,  to  be  received  most 
humbly  and  guarded  most  reverently.  back 
again,  over  again.  These  phrases  show  that  in 
Paul's  view  Judaism  and  Heathenism  rest  on  the 
same  legal  principle. 

10.  times.  R.V.,  "  seasons."  This  word  refers 
to  annual  celebrations  of  a  religious  kind  ;  days 
to  the  weekly  celebrations,  e.g.,  of  the  Sabbath  ; 
months  to  monthly  events  like  the  new  moon  ; 
and  years  to  sacred  years  whether  called 
'^  Sabbatical"  or  "  jubilee"  years  (cf.  Col.  ii.  l6). 


Gal.  iv.  12-20. 
8.  THE   APOSTLE    AND    HIS   CHILDREN. 

12  Brethren,  I  beseech  you,  be  as  I  am  ;  for  I  am  as  ye  are  : 

13  ye  have  not  injured  me  at  all.  Ye  know  how  through 
infirmity  of  the  flesh  I  preached  the  gospel  unto   you   at 

14  the  first.  And  my  temptation  which  was  in  my  flesh  ye 
despised  not,  nor  rejected ;    but  received  me  as  an  angel 

15  of  God,  even  as  Christ  Jesus.  Where  is  then  the  blessed- 
ness ye  spake  of?  for  I  bear  you  record,  that,  if  it  had  been 
possible,  ye  would  have  plucked  out  your  own  eyes,  and 

16  have    given  them    to  me.     Am    I  therefore  become    your 

17  enemy,  because  I  tell  you  the  truth?  They  zealously  affect 
you,  but  not  well ;    yea,  they  would  exclude  you,  that  ye 

18  might  affect  them.  But  it  is  good  to  be  zealously  affected 
always  in  a  good  thing,  and  not  only  when  I  am  present 

19  with  you.     My  little  children,  of  whom  I  travail  in  birth 


io8   Westminster  New  Testament 

20  again  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you,  I  desire  to  be  present 
with  you  now,  and  to  change  my  voice ;  for  I  stand  in 
doubt  of  you. 

The  course  of  thought  in  this  paragraph  is  for 
us  obscured  by  the  fact  that  it  contains  allusions  to 
events  in  the  past  relations  of  the  Apostle  to  the 
GalatianSj  and  allusions  also  to  words  or  phrases 
used  among  them  in  the  present  controversy^ 
concerning  which  we  can  only  make  more  or  less 
vague  conjectures.  The  whole  passage  is  full  of 
emotion.  Not  the  matters  of  doctrinal  principle 
but  those  of  personal  relationship  have  leapt  into 
view.  As  in  all  controversies  on  even  the  most 
vital  subjects,  so  here,  personal  relations  and  con- 
siderations become  involved  with  the  discussion  of 
fundamental  difficulties.  The  Apostle  is  so  sure 
of  the  truth,  so  sure  of  his  own  integrity  and 
purity  of  aim,  that  he  does  not  hesitate  to  throw 
human  affection  into  the  scales.  He  reminds  them 
of  their  former  generosity  towards  him  (13,  14); 
their  joy  in  his  message  and  devotion  to  him 
personally  (15)  ;  he  repudiates  the  notion  that  he 
had  become  their  enemy  (l6)  ;  he  unmasks  the 
real  meaning  of  the  sedulous  attentions  which  they 
have  received  from  their  false  teachers  (17);  he 
then  pours  out  in  affectionate  phrases  his  longing 
to  visit  them,  to  have  his  anxieties  removed  and 
the  old  relations  of  confidence  renewed  (18-20). 
Only  a  man  of  deep  feeling  and  loyal  soul  could 
have  written  like  this. 

12.  The  Apostle  reminds  them  that  he  had 
given  up  Judaism  and  had  become  as  a  Gentile, 
standing  before  God  in  Christ  simply  as  all  men 
must  stand.     He  pleads  with  them  not  to  assume 


Galatians  iv.  12-20  109 

the  place  he  had  abandoned,  not  to  come  under 
the   law,   but  to  remain,  to   continue  to  ^'^  be  "  as 

they  had  been,  ye  have  not  injured  me  at  all. 
R.V.,  "  Ye  did  me  no  wrong."  These  words  should 
begin  a  new  sentence,  and  be  connected  with 
the  following  verse.  Paul  here  refers  to  his  first 
coming  among  them,  when  they  did  him  no  injustice, 
but  rather,  in  spite  of  difficulties,  showed  him 
great  generosity. 

13.  Ye  know  .  .  .  flesh.  R.V.,  ^^  But  ye  know 
that  because  of  an  infirmity  of  the  flesh."  It  is 
clear  from  this  that  the  Apostle's  first  visit  to 
the  Galatian  churches  was  due  to  illness.  (See 
Ramsay's  Ep.  to  Galatians,  xlvii.  and  xlviii.)  at 
the  first.  R.V.,  "the  first  (w?Y//gm,  former)  time." 
There  is  dispute  among  scholars  as  to  whether  this 
word  means  "  when  I  formerly  visited  you,"  having 
made  only  one  visit  before  this  letter  was  written, 
or  "on  my  first  visit  of  the  two  which  I  have 
made  "  (see  Introduction,  p.  28). 

14.  And  my  temptation  which  was  in  my 
flesh.  R.V.,  "  And  that  which  was  a  temptation  to 
you  in  my  flesh."  Literally,  "  Your  temptation 
in  my  flesh."  Evidently  the  sickness  was  of  a  form 
which  tempted  them  to  despise  and  reject  (literally, 
to  spit  out)  the  sufferer.  If  it  was  malarial  fever, 
with  its  intermittent  agues  and  splitting  headaches, 
it  would  tend  to  make  him  a  weak-looking  object 
and  no  commanding  leader  of  men.  Incidentally, 
we  may  remark  that  if  they  did  not  despise  him, 
that  is  a  tribute  not  only  to  their  insight  and 
sympathy  but  to  the  heroic  energy  with  which  he 
fought  the  fell  foe  and  pursued  his  work  amid 
trembling  weakness  and  fierce  pain.  (See  Ramsay's 
Ep.  to    Galatians,    xlviii.,    on  "The    thorn    in  the 


no   Westminster  New  Testament 
flesh.")     but  received  me  (cf.    2   Cor.  v.  20; 

Matt.  X.  40-42).  One  cannot  but  feel  that  as  the 
Galatians  were  reminded  of  the  reverence  with 
which  they  had  treated  Paul  as  a  Divine  messenger, 
some  of  them  would  think  of  those  who  in  their 
ignorant  amazement  at  his  power  called  him  and 
his  companion  by  the  names  of  heathen  deities 
(Acts  xiv.  11  fF.),  and  in  fickleness  soon  stoned  him. 

15.  Where  is  then  the  blessedness  ye 
spake  of?  R.V.,  ^^  Where  then  is  that  gratulation 
of  yourselves  {piargm,  of  yours) } "  They  had 
rejoiced  and  exulted  among  themselves  over  him 
and  his  teachings — how  and  why  had  that  spirit 
vanished.''  your  own  eyes.  R.V.,  "your  eyes." 
There  is  no  reference  here,  as  some  have  supposed, 
to  any  disease  of  the  Apostle's  eyes,  which  has 
perhaps  been  partly  suggested  by  the  Authorised 
Version.  The  emphasis,  if  any,  would  rather 
suggest  the  translation,  "your  very  eyes."  It  is 
the  strength  of  their  devotion  and  self-sacrifice 
that  he  recalls  with  such  enthusiasm. 

16.  This  is  a  startling  contrast  with  ver.  15. 
They  are  evidently  being  persuaded  that  he  whom 
they  had  passionately  loved  is  an  enemy  to  their 
true  interests. 

17.  They  zealously  affect  you.  R.V.,  "  They 
zealously  seek  you."  Another  allusion  to  a  word 
which  their  letter  or  messengers  had  used.  They 
urged  that  his  opponents  took  a  great  interest  in 
them  and  paid  them  every  attention.  Paul  points 
out  that  they  do  this  not  well  (R.V.,  "  in  no  good 
way").  Their  real  aim  is  clear  to  him  and  he 
states  it  bluntly — yea,  they  would  exclude  you 
that  ye  might  affect  them.  R.V.,  "nay,  they 
desire  to  shut  you  out,  that  ye  may  seek  them." 


Galatians  iv.  12-20 


III 


This  word  "  shut  out "  must  ring  in  their  ears 
along  with  the  phrase  "  shut  up  unto"  (cf.  iii.  22, 
23).  From  the  real  good  to  which  the  law  had  led 
them  these  defenders  of  the  law  would  now  exclude 
them.  And  the  purpose  was  ''  that  ye  may  seek 
them/'  i.e.  that  the  Galatians,  having  lost  their 
faith  in  the  gospel,  might  "  zealously  seek  "  these 
Jewish  teachers  and  accept  their  authority. 

18,  19-  There  are  mingled  affection  and  regret 
and  rebuke  in  this  exclamation.  He  recalls  how 
that,  when  he  was  "  present  with "  them,  he  and 
they  had  indeed  ''  zealously  affected  "  or  "  sought  " 
each  other.  Then  their  mutual  interest  had  been 
in  a  good  thing  (R. v.,  ^^in  a  good  matter").  Would 
that  their  zeal  for  him  had  remained  (R.V.,  "at 
all  times  ")  the  same !  His  yearning  love  breaks 
out  into  one  of  those  expressions,  characteristic 
of  Paul,  in  which  he  applies  the  idea  of  parenthood 
to  his  relations  with  his  converts  —  my  little 
children,  of  whom  I  travail  in  birth  again. 
R.V.,  "I  am  again  in  travail."  His  present 
dealings  with  them  are  to  him  like  the  agony  of  a 
mother  ! 

20.  This  should  be  read  as  a  new  sentence.  The 
thought  is  subtle  and  beautiful,  like  a  parent's 
perplexed  brooding.  His  agony  (ver.  19)  arises 
from  his  perplexity — for  I  Stand  in  doubt  of  you. 
(R.V.,  "for  I  am  perplexed  about  you.")  If  only 
he  could  visit  them  in  person  instead  of  having 
to  be  content  with  the  hardness  of  this  written 
remonstrance,  his  voice  (or  tone)  would  change, 
and  the  old  love  would  well  forth ! 


112   Westminster  New  Testament 

Gal.  iv.  21. -V.  I. 
9.  MOUNT  SINAI   OR  JERUSALEM  ABOVE? 

21  Tell  me,  ye  that  desire  to  be  under  the  law,  do  ye  not  hear 

22  the  law?     For  it  is  written,  that  Abraham  had  two  sons, 

23  the  one  by  a  bondmaid,  the  other  by  a  free  woman.  But 
he  who  was  of  the  bondwoman  was  born   after   the   flesh  ; 

24  but  he  of  the  free  woman  was  by  promise.  Which  things 
are  an  allegory :  for  these  are  the  two  covenants  ;  the  one 
from  the  mount  Sinai,  which  gendereth  to  bondage,  which 

25  is  Agar.  For  this  Agar  is  mount  Sinai  in  Arabia,  and 
answereth  to  Jerusalem  which  now  is,  and  is  in  bondage 

26  with  her  children.     But  Jerusalem  which  is  above  is  free, 

27  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all.  For  it  is  written.  Rejoice^ 
thou  barren  that  dearest  not ;  break  forth  and  cry,  thou 
that  travailest    not:    for    the    desolate    hath   many   more 

28  children   than   she   which   hath   an    husband.       Now  we, 

29  brethren,  as  Isaac  was,  are  the  children  of  promise.  But  as 
then  he  that  was  born  after  the  flesh  persecuted  him  that 

30  was  born  after  the  Spirit,  even  so  it  is  now.  Nevertheless 
what  saith  the  Scripture?  Cast  out  the  bondwoman  and 
her  son  :  for  the  son  of  the  bondwoman  shall  not  be  heir 

31  with  the  son  of  the  free  woman.  So  then,  brethren,  we 
are  not  children  of  the  bondwoman,  but  of  the  free. 

V.  I  Stand  fast  therefore  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath 
made  us  free,  and  be  not  entangled  again  with  the  yoke 
of  bondage. 

This  paragraph,  like  the  previous  references  to 
the  "curse"  (iii.  13)  and  the  "seed"  (ill.  I6),  is 
an  instance  of  one  of  those  modes  of  argument 
which  are  called  in  general  "  Rabbinical/'  because 
they  had  been  employed  so  freely  by  the  Rabbis 
or  theological  scholars  of  Judaism,  among  whom 
Paul  received  a  part  of  his  training.     Whereas  in 


Galatians  iv.  21 -v.  i  113 

those  passages  the  particular  method  had  consisted 
in  a  legal  mterpretation  of  the  death  of  Christ 
(iii.  13),  and  a  grammatical  interpretation  of  a  certain 
prophecy  to  make  it  apply  to  Christ  (iii.  l6),  here 
the  method  is  the  allegorical  interpretation  of  a 
passage  of  history.  The  interpretation  of  the  Old 
Testament  by  allegory  had  many  forms  among  the 
Rabbis,  and  Paul  must  have  been  trained  in  their 
application. 

In  the  passage  before  us  it  may  not  be  rash  to 
say  that  he  may  be  once  more  meeting  an  argument 
used  by  the  Judaizers,  whether  reported  to  him  by 
letter  or  by  the  mouth  of  messengers.  His  well- 
known  emphasis  on  the  faith  of  Abraham,  and  on 
the  idea  that  all  Christian  believers  are  "sons  of 
Abraham,"  may  have  led  to  an  undermining  argu- 
ment. '  Abraham  has  other  descendants  than  those 
who  come  from  Isaac,  the  son  of  Sarah,  but 
the  covenant  of  God  was  made  with  Abraham 
concerning  Sarah  and  her  descendants  only.  Even 
Ishmael,  the  son  of  Hagar,  was  not  reckoned  as  the 
heir  of  the  promise.  How,  then,  can  outsiders  hope 
to  be  reckoned  as  co-heirs  with  the  Jews  unless 
they  come  under  that  covenant  which  referred  only 
to  Sarah  and  her  actual  offspring  }  There  is  the 
ultimate  source  of  the  law,  they  may  have  argued. 
Take  it  or  leave  it.  But  only  by  taking  it  can  you 
come  under  the  sweep  of  the  covenant  whose 
effect  is  always  conditioned  by  submission  to 
circumcision.'  The  Apostle  countermines  this 
argument  by  one  whose  force  and  subtiity  those 
trained  Jewish  minds  could  not  fail  to  recognize. 
We  have  two  parallel  stories.  (1)  There  is  Hagar, 
the  handmaid,  with  her  son  after  the  flesh,  who 
was  born  in  bondage.  That,  says  Paul,  corresponds 
8 


114   Westminster  New  Testament 

to  the  covenant  given  from  Mount  Sinai^  where  her 
descendants  still  dwell^  and  that  covenant  is  repre- 
sented in  the  earthly  Jerusalem,  the  fountainhead 
of  them  who  are  in  bondage.  (They  are  confessedly 
under  that  Sinaitic  covenant,  and  Paul  calls  it 
bondage.)  And  they  are  persecuting  the  children 
of  freedom  as  Ishmael  persecuted  Isaac  (ver.  29). 
(2)  There  is  Sarah,  the  freewoman,  whose  son  was 
a  child  of  promise,  as  we  are  (28),  and  born  after 
the  Spirit  (29),  even  as  we  are.  That  corresponds 
to  the  heavenly,  the  ideal  spiritual  city  (26),  which 
is  our  mother,  the  fountain  of  the  life  :of  faith. 
We  as  children  of  the  promise  (28)  are,  of  course, 
persecuted  (29)-  It  is  certain  that  there  can  be 
no  harmony  or  union  of  these  two  principles,  or  of 
those  who  obey  them.  If  one  is  still  the  presecutor, 
that  is  yet  the  one  doomed  to  be  "cast  out" 
(30).  Our  line  of  spiritual  descent  is  not  from  the 
handmaid  but  the  freewoman  (31).  Be  sure,  then, 
to  hold  that  freedom  fast  and  refuse  to  come  under 
the  law  which  is  a  veritable  slavery  of  the  soul,  a 
"  yoke  of  bondage  "  (v.  1). 

21.  desire.  The  Galatians,  or  some  of  them, 
seem  to  have  been  more  than  half  persuaded  by 
the  Judaizers,  so  that  they  expressed  the  wish  to  be- 
come Jews,  that  they  might  be  the  better  Christians. 

22.  the  one  ...  a  free  woman.  R.V.,  "one 

by  the  handmaid,  and  one  by  the  freewoman." 
Throughout  the  R.V.  has  "handmaid"  for  "bond- 
woman," as  the  Greek  word  could  be  applied  to  a 
free  maiden. 

23.  after  the  flesh  ...  by   promise.   R.V., 

"through  promise."  The  one  son  was  born  in 
the  course  of  nature,  there  being  here  no  reference 
to  the  idea  of  sin  in  Abraham's  parentage.     The 


Galatians  iv.  21-v.  i  115 

other  son  was  born  out  of  the  course  of  nature, 
accordmg  to  the  promise  of  God  (ver,  28  ;  cf.  Heb. 
xi.  11,  12),  "after  the  spmt"  (ver.  29). 

24.  Which  things  are    an  allegory.   R.V., 

"  contahi  an  allegory."  The  word  "allegory" 
means  that  statements  are  made  which  contain 
another  or  hidden  meaning  in  addition  to  the 
obvious  one.  (See  article  on  "Allegory"  in  Hastings' 
Diet,  of  Bible.)  The  theory  was  elaborately 
worked  out  by  Jewish  theologians  and  philo- 
sophers that  the  O.T.  is  full  of  these  double 
meanings  in  its  historic  institutions,  laws,  and 
prophecies.  Paul  was  trained  to  that  method  and 
used  it  on  certain  occasions  (cf.  1  Cor.  ix.  9,  10, 
X.  4  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  13-16).  Here  the  obvious  meaning 
of  the  stories  of  Sarah  and  Hagar  is  not  denied. 
But  Paul  believes  that  they  can  be  shown  to 
contain,  in  the  plan  of  God,  another  and  a  true 
interpretation.  The  relations  and  history  of  these 
persons  correspond  to  the  relations  of  God  and 
man  under  two  covenants,  these  are  the  two 
covenants.  R.V.,  "  these  women  are  two 
covenants."  The  covenants  are  viewed  as 
"mothers"  or  sources  of  human  experience. 
which  gendereth  unto  bondage,  which  is 
Agar.  R.V.,  "bearing  children  unto  bondage, 
which  is  Hagar."  The  Sinaitic  covenant,  like 
Hagar,  produced  an  offspring  in  bondage.  In  the 
next  verse  a  heavy  blow  is  given  to  the  Judaizers 
in  the  implied  assertion  that  they  who  are  repre- 
senting the  claims  of  that  covenant  are  slaves 
(cf  Matt,  xxiii.  37). 

25.  For  this  Agar  is  mount  Sinai  in 
Arabia.  R.V.  margin,  "  For  Shiai  is  a  mountain 
in    Arabia."     There  is  much  difficulty  about   the 


ii6    Westminster  New  Testament 

correct  text  here.  The  R.V.  marginal  reading 
seems  best,  if  only  because  the  other  variations  can 
be  most  easily  explained  as  arising  from  it.  But 
some  think  the  whole  clause  is  not  due  to  Paul, 
but  to  a  later  interpolation ;  and  the  argument  is 
certainly  clearer  without  it.  If  we  adopt  the 
received  text  we  must  remember  that  "this 
Hagar"  does  not  mean  "this  actual  woman 
Hagar/'  but  "this  fact  or  principle  which  is  repre- 
sented by  the  woman  Hagar."  The  notion  that 
"Hagar"  is  used  as  a  name  for  Sinai,  or  some 
portion  of  it,  is  without  good  support.  But  some 
interpreters  understand  it  to  mean,  that  "  in 
Arabia  the  name  Hagar  signifies  the  Mount 
Sinai." 

26.  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all.  R.V., 
"which  is  our  mother."  Cf.  Isa.  xlix.-lii.  for  the 
picture  of  a  city  as  a  mother.  Poly  carp  (£p.  Phil. 
iii.)  speaks  of  that  "  faith  .  .  .  which  ...  is  the 
mother  of  us  all."  The  Jews  had  been  taught  to 
think  that  earthly  objects  are  copies  and  symbols 
of  things  in  heaven  (cf.  Heb.  viii.  5,  ix.  23),  and 
pictured  a  Jerusalem  in  heaven  which  is  the  exact 
counterpart  of  the  earthly  city.  Paul  speaks  of 
"the  Jerusalem  above"  in  contrast  with  "the 
present  Jerusalem."  He  conceives  of  the  former 
as  the  house  of  freedom,  the  city  or  community 
(Phil.  iii.  20)  in  heaven  whose  rights  are  con- 
ferred by  an  act  of  grace  upon  men  of  faith  (cf. 
Rev.  iii.  12,  xxi.  2,  10  If.  ;  Heb.  xii.  18-29). 

27.  This  is  a  most  apt  quotation  from  Isa.  liv.  1, 
in  which  the  prophet  describes  to  the  exiles  the 
glories  of  Jerusalem  after  their  return  from 
captivity.  The  images  of  the  City  and  the  Bride 
are    mingled     throughout     tlie     passage     and    so 


Galatians  iv.  21 -v.  i  117 

applicable  both  to  Sarah,  so  long  barren,  and  to 
the  New  Jerusalem,  so  fruitful  of  the  children  of 
freedom.  And  they,  though  few,  shall  outnumber 
the  children  of  bondage, — is  not  that  also  in  the 
Apostle's  prophetic  thought  ? 

28.  we.  Most  recent  editors  prefer  to  read 
"  ye,"  as  in  R.V.  margin.  The  Apostle  once  more 
emphasises  with  delicacy  and  firmness  that  they 
are  "  brethren  "  and  true  sons  of  Abraham,  with 
Isaac. 

29.  persecuted.  The  Hebrew  word  in  Gen. 
xxi.  9  means  that  Sarah  saw  the  boy  Ishmael 
"playing"  (R.V.  marghi),  not  "mocking,"  still  less 
"persecuting."  But  Paul  here  follows  the  Jewish 
tradition,  and  turns  it  against  his  opponents.  It 
is  the  descendants  of  Abraham  after  the  flesh  (the 
Jews)  who  are  now  persecuting  his  children  after 
the  Spirit  (the  Christians). 

30.  Here,  as  at  iii.  10,  Paul  slightly  varies  from 
the  real  words  in  quoting  Gen.  xxi.  1 0,  to  bring  out 
his  point  without  explanation.  As  it  stands,  his 
words  reveal  the  extraordinary  force  of  his  con- 
viction that  the  future  history  of  God's  kingdom 
is  with  the  body  of  believers  in  Christ.  There  can 
be  no  compromise  between  the  warring  principles, 
law  and  grace,  flesh  and  spirit,  bondage  and 
freedom.  But  the  victory  of  "  the  son  of  the  free- 
woman"  is  sure. 

31.  Perhaps  there  is  a  touch  of  scorn  in  these 
burning  words,  which  must  be  read  in  close  associa- 
tion with  the  next  verse. 

V.  1.  Stand  fast  therefore  in  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free.  R.V., 
"  With  freedom  {inai'gin,  or  freedom)  did  Christ 
set  us  free."     The  Apostle  dwells  on  the  great  fact 


ii8   Westminster  New  Testament 

of  "  freedom/'  the  mysterious  quality  of  life  which 
had  eluded  the  passionate  search  of  man  for  ages. 
It  is  here,  within  reach  of  men,  and  these  Galatians 
are  turning  their  backs  on  it.  For  the  sake  of  this 
freedom,  as  an  ultimate  good  of  the  soul,  Christ  has 
delivered  '^  us  " — Jew  and  Gentile  alike  (iii.  3,  8) 
— from  a  yoke  of  bondage.  Paul  urges  the  Galatians 
to  stand  against  the  forces  that  threaten  to  throw 
them  again  under  that  galling  slavery. 


Gal.  V.  2-6. 
10.  FREEDOM  OR  BONDAGE? 

2  Behold,   I   Paul  say  unto  you,  that  if  ye  be  circumcised, 

3  Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing.  For  I  testify  ai^ain  to 
every  man  that  is  circumcised,  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the 

4  whole  law.  Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you,  who- 
soever of  you  are  justified  by  the  law  :  ye  are  fallen  from 

5  grace.     For  we  through  the  Spirit  wait  for  the  hope  of 

6  righteousness  by  faith.  For  in  Jesus  Christ  neither  circum- 
cision availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision  ;  but  faith 
which  worketh  by  love. 

Paul  once  more  assumes  a  personal  tone.  Con- 
scious at  once  of  his  responsibility  and  his  influence, 
he  asserts  with  great  vigour  that  if  men  undertake 
deliberately  the  burden  of  the  law  as  a  way  of 
salvation,  they  are  rejecting  Christ.  Christ  does 
not  share  this  task  of  salvation  with  any.  On  the 
one  hand  the  Apostle  insists  on  the  fact  that  the 
legal  principle,  if  a  man  submits  to  it,  is  like  an  in- 
exorable creditor.  On  the  other  hand  Christ,  who 
demands,  indeed,  a  complete  submission  to  His  own 
power,  grants  the  hope  of  righteousness  to  that  faith 
which  is  fixed  on  Him  and  ''  works  through  love." 


Galatians  v.  2-6  119 

2.  The  first  words  arrest  attention.  It  is  no  un- 
known and  irresponsible  person  who  deals  with 
them,  but  Paul,  whose  conversion  and  whose 
apostolate  they  know  and  through  whose  preaching 
they  had  been  awakened  from  dead  things  to  serve 
the  living  God.  if  ye  be  circumcised.  R.V., 
"if  ye  receive  circumcision."  Here  and  in  the 
next  verse  the  emphasis  is  upon  the  idea  that 
Gentiles  who  deliberately  undergo  circumcision 
do  so  with  a  purpose,  and  their  whole  standing 
before  God  is  determined  by  that  fact.  It  is  con- 
version to  a  principle.  Christ  shall  profit  you 
nothing.  This  is  a  tremendous  utterance.  These 
men  must  choose  once  for  all  between  the  final  act 
of  faith  in  Christ  alone  for  salvation  and  the 
greatest,  noblest  religion  of  antiquity.  For  men 
who  will  not  trust  in  Him  as  the  Christ  of  God, 
His  value  disappears. 

3.  R.V.,  "  Yea,  I  testify  again."  So  solemn  and 
conclusive  is  the  statement  of  ver.  3  that  the 
Apostle  repeats  it  in  a  larger  way  in  the  next  four 
verses,  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole 
law.  The  legal  principle  demands  that  a  man  shall 
stand  condemned  unless  he  has  perfected  righteous- 
ness in  his  own  will. 

4.  Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  to  you,  etc. 
R.V.,  "  Ye  are  severed  (Gr.  brought  to  nought) 
from  Christ,  ye  who  would  be  justified  by  the  law  ; 
ye  are  fallen  away  from  grace."  They  who  would 
be  justified  in  any  other  way  have  then  and  there 
been  severed  from  Him  and  passed  out  of  that 
universe  of  grace  in  which  alone  He  reigns  and  in 
which  He  reigns  alone. 

5.  For  we  through  the  Spirit  wait  ...  by 
faith.    R.V., '^Forwe  through  the  Spirit  by  faith 


I20   Westminster  New  Testament 

wait."  The  righteousness  in  which  true  Christians 
live  is  received  from  God's  Spirit  in  the  act  of 
faith.  It  is  a  gift  for  which  men  wait  in  Uvely 
and  happy  hope^  not  a  personal  achievement  to  be 
striven  for  as  slaves  strive  in  a  thankless  and 
hopeless  task. 

6.  faith  which  worketh  by  love.  R.V.,  "faith 
working  {margin,  wrought)  through  love."  This 
great  verse  reveals  the  fact  that  no  past  condition 
of  servitude  has  anything  to  do  with  a  man's  stand- 
ing before  God  in  Christ.  Whether  he  had  been 
a  Jew  or  a  Gentile  matters  not.  It  is  the  humanity 
in  every  man  to  which  the  gospel  is  addressed. 
In  Christ  Jesus — that  is^  in  the  new  way  of 
God  with  men  at  last  established  in  Christ,  God 
demands  of  them  only  that  which  all  men  can  give 
— the  living  faith  which  is  expressed  in  a  life 
of  love. 

We  must  note  well  the  occurrence  in  this  passage 
of  the  three  great  words^,  faith,  hope,  and  love  (cf. 
Rom.  V.  1-5  ;  1  Cor.  xiii. ;  Col.  i.  4,  .5  ;  1  Thess.  i.  3). 
In  Paul's  writings  these  appear  not  as  mere  emotions, 
but  as  acts  of  will  which  are  mutually  related. 


Gal.  V.  7-12. 

II.  THE  GALATIANS  AND  THEIR 
DISTURBERS. 

7  Ye  did  run  well ;  who  did  hinder  you  that  ye  should  not 

8  obey  the  truth  ?     This  persuasion  cometh  not  of  him  that 

9  calleth  you.     A  little  leaven   leaveneth  the  whole  lump. 
ID  I  have  confidence  in  you  through  the  Lord,  that  ye  will  be 

none  otherwise  minded  :  but  he  that  troubleth  you  shall  bear 
II  his  judgment,  whosoever  he  be.     And  I,  brethren,  if  I  yet 


Galatians  v.  7-12  121 

preach  circumcision,  why  do  I  yet  suffer  persecution?  then 
12  is  the  offence  of  the  cross  ceased,     I  would  they  were  even 
cut  off  which  trouble  you. 

In  this  paragraph  the  Apostle  is  in  the  same 
mood  or  attitude  as  in  chap.  i.  6-10.  The  parallels 
are  subtle,  but  distinct  and  interesting.  In  each 
paragraph  there  is  a  reference  to  "another" 
message  to  which  the  Galatians  were  attracted 
(i.  6  and  v.  10),  to  those  who  were  harassing 
them  (i.  7  and  v.  10),  to  a  doom  (i.  8,  9  and  v.  10), 
to  God  who  "  called  "  them  (i.  6  and  v.  8),  to  his 
wonder  at  their  change  of  mind  (i.  6  and  v.  7),  to 
their  unsettlement  (i.  6  and  v.  12),  to  the  character 
of  his  own  message  (i.  8  and  v.  11),  to  the  question 
whether  men  were  pleased  with  or  offended  with 
his  message  (i.  10  and  v.  11).  There  is,  however, 
a  slight  change  of  tone  which  is  marked  by  the 
confidence  which  he  expresses  (ver.  10),  that  after 
all  the  Galatians  will  not  yield  to  the  temptation. 
With  rhetorical  skill  the  Apostle  uses  words  con- 
cerning the  Judaizers  which  drive  home  the  idea 
that  they  were  not  friends,  but  enemies,  who  were 
thus  dealing  with  them.  They  hinder  (ver.  7), 
they  persuade  (ver.  8),  they  trouble  (ver.  10),  they 
unsettle  (ver.  12). 

7.  Ye  did  run  well.  R.V.,  '^  Ye  were  running 
well."  who  did  hinder  you?  We  cannot  say 
whether  the  Apostle  knew  by  name  the  adversaries 
who  had  done  this  mischief  in  Galatia.  Even 
when  it  is  quite  clear  that  he  must  have  known 
some  of  his  enemies  (as  in  ii.  4,  v.  11),  he  does  not 
name  them.  Perhaps  he  felt  more  free  to  discuss 
the  principles  at  stake  frankly,  if  direct  personal- 
ities were  avoided.     Even  the  last  clause  of  ver.  10, 


122    Westminster  New  Testament 

"  whosoever  he  be/'  would  be  legitunately  used, 
even  if  the  opponent  was  known  to  Paul,  in  order 
to  emphasize  the  truth  itself.  The  wonder  refers 
to  the  raising  of  an  obstacle,  here  "  the  law  "  and 
its  claims,  which  stopped  their  Christian  progress. 

8.  him  that  calleth  you— that  is,  God. 

9.  Most  probably  this  saying  (cf.  1  Cor.  v.  6-8) 
was  derived  by  the  Apostle  from  the  teaching 
of  Jesus  (cf.  Matt.  xvi.  5-12).  By  leaven  we 
must,  of  course,  understand  not  persons,  but  their 
teaching. 

10.  that  ye  will  be  none  otherwise  minded. 
Lit.,  "  that  ye  wall  not  mind  another  thing,"  i.e. 
Paul  feels  confident  that  they  will  not  give  them- 
selves to  another  form  of  teaching  than  that  which 
centred  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  the 
Lord.  R.V.,  ^'\n  the  Lord."  This  confidence  is 
founded  at  once  on  the  power  of  Christ  and  on 
the  reality  of  their  union  with  Him.  shall  bear 
his  judgment.  One  cannot  but  recall  the  terrible 
"  anathema "  of  i.  8,  9-  For  the  Apostle  views 
with  great  solemnity  the  position  of  any  man  who 
fights  against  the  Lord  of  the  final  judgment 
(cf.  2  Cor.  V.  10;  1  Cor.  xi.  29-34;  Acts  xvii.  31  ; 
Rom.  ii.  2). 

11.  then  is  the  offence  of  the  cross  ceased. 

R.V.,  "then  hath  the  stumbling  block  of  the 
cross  been  done  away."  This  verse  recurs  to  the 
accusation,  which  he  met  in  i.  10,  that  while  with 
the  Jewish  Christians  of  Palestine,  he  temporized, 
he  adapted  himself  to  his  surroundings,  there  he 
preached  circumcision.  This  statement  receives 
added  and  vivid  force  if  we  take  the  view  that 
this  letter  was  written  from  Antioch  before  the 
Council  of  Jerusalem  just  at  the  time  when  bitter 


Galatians  v.  13-15  123 

persecution  and  Peter's  temporary  defection  were 
bringing  things  to  a  head  (Acts  xv.  1,  2).  If,  he 
says,  I  were  still  preaching  circumcision,  I  would 
not  be  pursued  as  I  am.  The  offence  given  by 
preaching  the  sufficiency  of  the  cross  would  have 
ceased  already, 

12.  The  R.V.  margiji  gives  the  true  meaning  of 
this  verse,  "  I  would  that  they  which  unsettle  you 
would  even  mutilate  themselves."  The  reference 
is  to  certain  heathen  rites  which  were  performed 
in  Galatia  itself  in  the  worship  of  heathen  deities, 
and  which  involved  more  terrible  mutilation  than 
Jewish  circumcision.  The  meaning  is.  Would 
that  these  who  overthrow  your  Christian  order 
would  even  go  the  full  length  and  do  as  the 
heathen  do !  The  irony  is  fierce,  of  course,  but 
it  would  serve  as  no  smooth  arguments  could  to 
emphasize  the  idea  of  iii.  8,  9  that  to  become 
Jews  was  to  revert  to  a  degraded  bondage  (cf. 
Phil.  iii.  2,  3). 


PART  III.  PRACTICAL  ISSUES  OF  THE 
GOSPEL. 

(Gal.  v.   13-vi.  10.) 

I.  FREEDOM  AND  LICENCE  (v.  13-15). 

13  For,  brethren,  ye  have  been  called  unto  liberty;  only  use 
not  liberty  for  an  occasion  to  the  flesh,  but  by  love  serve 

14  one  another.     For  all  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  one  v^^ord,  even 

15  in  this  ;  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.  But 
if  ye  bite  and  devour  one  another,  take  heed  that  ye  be 
not  consumed  one  of  another. 


124    Westminster  New  Testament 

This  brief  paragraph  is  a  kind  of  bridge  between 
the  doctrinal  discussions  of  the  central  part  of 
the  epistle  and  the  practical  exhortations  which 
are  now  based  on  them.  The  transition  springs 
naturally  from  the  previous  idea  of  '^freedom," 
which  he  has  been  expounding  as  the  gift  of  the 
gospel.  For  the  Apostle  knows  well  how  easy  it 
is  to  turn  freedom  into  licence.  The  history  of  the 
Church  is  full  of  warning  that  just  when  people 
revolt  against  the  tyranny  of  legalism,  and  realize 
their  freedom  as  sons  of  God,  they  are  tempted 
to  throw  all  moral  restraint  to  the  winds.  Anti- 
nomianism,  as  it  is  called,  when  men  deny  the 
authority  of  the  moral  law,  is  the  slough  into  which 
they  are  apt  to  fall  when  they  escape,  blind  and  wild, 
from  the  prison  house  of  formalism  and  legalism. 

13.  called  unto  liberty.  R.V.,  ^^were  called 
for  freedom."  The  word  "brethren"  marks  the 
recurrence  of  a  warm  and  affectionate  tone,  by 
love  serve  one  another.  R.V.,  '^through  love 
be  servants  one  to  another."  He  has  warned 
them  against  one  kind  of  slavery  and  urged  them 
to  be  free  men.  He  now  calls  them  to  a  new 
kind  of  slavery !  They  are  to  be  in  bondage  not 
to  "the  law,"  not  to  any  priesthood  or  institution, 
but,  strange  to  say,  to  one  another.  And  this 
slavery  is  not  to  be  forced  on  them  with  outward 
pains  and  penalties.  It  can  only  spring  from  their 
own  hearts,  "through  love." 

14.  For  all  the  law.  R.V., "  for  the  whole  law." 
"  Law  again ! "  they  might  well  exclaim.  Yes, 
we  must  live  under  the  law.  But  the  freeman  of 
Christ  has  fulfilled  the  entire  law  when  he  has 
fulfilled  the  one  great  principle,  "  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself."     The  Jews  had  much 


Galatians  v.  16-26  125 

discussion  of  this  law  (cf.  Luke  x.  25-37)^,  and 
many  agreed  that  "neighbour"  meant  "  fellow - 
Jew."  Some  writers  accuse  Paul  of  having  simply 
transferred  this  narrow  spirit  to  the  Church  and 
taught  only  "  love  of  the  brethren."  His  actual 
words  nowhere  bear  this  out  (cf.  Rom.  xiii.  8-10 
and  notes  there;  1  Cor.  xiii.).  Luther  says  that 
here  we  have  theology  at  once  in  its  shortest  and 
longest  form.  "  For  in  verbal  statement  it  is  very 
brief;  but  in  act  and  fact  it  is  broader,  longer^ 
deeper,  and  higher  than  the  whole  world." 

15.  There  is  here  both  grim  humour  and  caustic, 
earnest  warning. 

Gal.    V.  16-26. 
2.  THE  WAR  OF  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT. 

16  This    I  say  then,   Walk  in  the   Spirit,    and   ye  shall  not 

1 7  fulfil  the  lust  of  the  flesh.  For  the  flesh  lust&th  against  the 
Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh  :  and  these  are 
contrary  the  one  to  the  other  ;  so  that  ye  cannot  do  the 

18  things   that   ye  would.     But  if  ye    be  led  of  the  Spirit, 

19  ye  are  not  under  the  law.  Now  the  works  of  the  flesh 
are  manifest,  which  are  these.   Adultery,  fornication,  un- 

20  cleanness,  iasciviousness,  idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred, 
variance,    emulations,     wrath,    strife,    seditions,    heresies, 

21  envyings,  murders,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such 
like  :  of  the  which  I  tell  you  before,  as  I  have  also  told 
you  in  time  past,  that  they  which  do  such  things  shall  not 

22  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.  But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is 
love,  joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 

23  meekness,    temperance  :    against   such    there   is   no   law. 

24  And  they  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with 

25  the  affections  and  lusts.     If  we  live  in  the  Spirit,  let  us 

26  also  walk  in  the  Spirit.  Let  us  not  be  desirous  of  vainglory, 
provoking  one  another,  envying  one  another. 


126   Westminster  New  Testament 

The  remainder  of  this  chapter  is  an  expansion 
of  the  thought  contained  in  vers.  13-15.  First 
(vers.  16-18),  taking  up  the  word  ^"^  flesh"  (ver.  13) 
in  connection  with  its  opposing  force,  the  Spirit 
(ver.  5),  he  vividly  describes  the  war  between 
them;  then  (vers.  19-24.)  he  brings  the  more 
abstract  or  general  statement  to  the  concrete 
and  particular,  enumerating  the  "  works  of  the 
flesh "  and  the  "  fruit  of  the  Spirit/'  and  their 
significance  for  a  man's  spiritual  relations  ;  finally 
(vers.  25,  26),  he  returns  to  the  mutual  relations 
of  Church  members,  demanding  again  the  habits  of 
the  spirit  of  love. 

i6.  This  I  say  then,  Walk  in  the  Spirit. 
R.V.,  ^^But  I  say.  Walk  by  the  Spirit,"— the 
Holy  Spirit,  as  the  R.V.  indicates  (cf.  Rom.  viii.). 
the  flesh  is  used  by  the  Apostle  not  merely 
to  denote  our  physical  body,  but  our  bodily  life 
as  the  seat  of  our  passions.  Hence  not  merely 
physical  appetites,  but  hatred,  jealousy,  covetous- 
ness  (Rom.  vii.  7)  are  regarded  as  works  of  the 
flesh  (vers.  19-21). 

17.  Spirit.  R.V.,  ^^  Spirit."  so  that  ye 
cannot  do.  R.V.,  ^^so  that  ye  may  not  do." 
Rom.  vii.  is  an  expansion  of  the  thought,  an  elabo- 
ration of  the  experience  which  is  briefly  stated 
here.  In  the  Christian  man  a  war  is  raging — the 
desires  which  spring  from,  and  are  directed  by, 
the  power  called  the  flesh  are  opposed  by  another 
set  of  distinct  desires  which  are  set  up  in  him  by 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Christian  man  feels  that  he 
^'^ would"  do  right,  but  in  his  very  nature  he  feels 
the  forces  that  interfere  with  his  will. 

18.  under  the  law.  Better,  "under  law." 
The  man  who  is  conscious  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is 


Galatians  v.  16-26  127 

the  source  of  desii")e  and  action  finds  that  the 
principle  of  "legalism"  has  vanished.  We  can 
illustrate  from  the  attitude  of  the  habitual  criminal 
who  regards  the  laws  and  corrective  institutions  of 
the  State  as  keeping  his  will  in  bondage,  as  a 
curse  upon  his  desires.  If  he  become  changed  in 
his  mind  he  will  find  the  very  laws,  which  he 
feared  as  foreign  tyrants,  to  be  the  expression  of 
that  spirit  of  social  order  and  peace  and  goodwill 
which  now  he  loves.  He  is  no  longer,  as  we  say, 
"  under  the  law." 

19-21.  R  v.,  "fornication,  uncleanness,  las- 
civiousness,  idolatry,  sorcery,  enmities,  strife 
jealousies,  wraths,  factions,  divisions,  heresies 
(margin,  parties),  envyings,  drunkenness,  revel 
lings."  The  word  adultery  is  rightly  omitted  from 
the  list.  The  word  "^  murders,"  in  the  opinion  of 
many  authorities,  ought  to  be  retained  (cf.  Rom.  i. 
28,  29);  the  Greek  words  for  "envyings"  and 
"  murders "  are  distinguished  only  by  one  letter, 
which  might  account  for  the  omission  of  one  word 
by  a  copyist,  but  hardly  for  its  insertion.  It  is 
usual  to  see  in  this  list  four  classes  of  evils  :  (l) 
sexual  corruption,  (2)  heathen  practices,  (3) 
offences  in  act  and  feeling  against  fellow-men, 
(4)  intemperance.  But  Sir  W.  Ramsay  divides 
them  into  three  groups,  due,  respectively,  to  im- 
pure religious  practices,  municipal  government  with 
its  bitter  quarrels,  and  social  life.  The  Apostle 
gives  these  as  examples  of  the  kind  of  thing  which 
"  the  flesh  "  produces  in  human  experience.  They 
are  "  manifest,"  he  says,  or  familiar  to  every  one. 
of  the  which  I  tell  you  before,  as  I  have  also 
told  you  in  time  past.  R.V,,  "  of  the  which  I  fore- 
warn you  {inargin,  tell  you  plainly),  even  as  I  did 


128    Westminster  New  Testament 

forewarn  you  {inargin,  tell  you  plainly).  dO-  K.V.^ 
"  practise." 

22,  23.  The  R.V.  reads  "Spirit"  for  spirit; 
"kindness"  for  gentleness;  "faithfulness"  for 
faith ;  and,  in  its  margiji,  "self-control"  for  temper- 
ance. The  attentive  consideration  of  each  of 
these  evangelical  graces  is  a  source  of  blessing. 
To  think  of  each  of  the  "  works  "  named  above  is 
to  look  upon  a  world  and  upon  experiences  of 
darkness,  bitterness,  and  horror.  But  these  graces 
do  one  by  one  open  doors  into  a  world  of  order 
and  beauty  and  soul-rest  and  life  eternal.  (1) 
They  are  ours  and  realized  in  us,  as  fruit  of  the 
Divine  presence  in  us.  They  grow  out  of  that 
Spirit  by  which  we  are  led  (ver.  17)  and  live 
(ver.  25).  (2)  Over  these  no  alien  authority  holds 
sway.  The  word  "  law  "  means  the  legal  principle 
with  all  its  functions  and  effects,  as  it  has  been 
exposed  in  this  letter.  This  "  fruit "  in  a  human 
life  being  inwardly  related  to  and  produced  from 
God  Himself,  the  indwelling  Spirit,  it  cannot  be 
tested  or  condemned  by  "  law." 

24.  And  they  that  are  Christ's.  R.V.,  "of 
Christ  Jesus."  An  interesting  study  can  be  made 
of  the  various  ways  in  which  the  Apostle  uses  the 
names  of  our  Lord.  The  order  "  Christ  Jesus  "  is 
rare,  and  was  felt  to  be  so  unusual  that  some 
copyists  appear  to  have  altered  it  by  dropping  the 
second  name  (cf.  Eph.  iii.  1  ;  Col.  ii.  6).  As  the 
gospel  spread  among  the  Gentiles  the  name 
"  Christ  "  lost  some  of  its  merely  Jewish  historical 
associations  (the  Christ  or  the  Messiah),  and 
became  a  personal  name  to  emphasize  the  eternal 
and  universal  meaning  and  power  of  Jesus,  have 
crucified.    Nothing  is  more  remarkable  in  Paul's 


Galatians  v.  16-26  129 

style  than  the  startUng  freedom  and  variety  with 
which  he  uses  the  great  and  central  words  of  the 
new  era  in  God's  relations  to  mankind.  As  with 
"law/'  "faith/'  etc.^  elsewhere^  so  with  "crucify" 
(cf.  iii.  1,  Christ  was  set  forth  by  the  preacher  as 
crucified ;  ii.  20,  Paul  found  that  he  had  been 
crucified  with  Christ ;  v.  24,  those  who  are  "  of 
Christ  Jesus"  have  crucified  the  flesh;  vi.  14, 
through  Christ  the  world  has  been  crucified  to  Paul, 
and  Paul  has  been  crucified  to  the  world).  There 
are  two  elements  in  these  statements  :  (1)  that  as  a 
believer  in  Christ,  Paul  has  become  so  cut  off  from  the 
principles  and  passions  of  his  past  life  that  it  is  as 
if  he  had  died  and  passed  into  a  new  universe  of 
relations  and  desires ;  (2)  that  this  profound  and 
permanent  cleavage  is  the  result  of  the  death  of 
Christ  upon  the  Cross  (cf.  Rom.  vi.  1  ff. ;  1  Cor. 
i.  18-25;  2  Cor.  v.  14,  15).  the  flesh  with  the 
affections  (wargm, passions)  and  lusts.  H.  v., "  the 
flesh  with  the  passions  and  the  lusts  thereof." 

25,  26.  "  Ver.  24  corresponds  to  vers.  19-21,  as 
ver.  25  to  vers.  22  and  23 "  (Benjamin  Jowett). 
In  these  the  Apostle  passes  on  to  definite  moral 
exhortations.  Having  shown  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs  that  the  dispute  about  the  law  is  not  an 
abstract  battle  of  words,  but  bears  directly  upon  a 
man's  realized  relations  with  God,  that  in  the  act 
and  life  of  faith  towards  Jesus  Christ  a  man  receives 
and  experiences  the  power  of  the  very  spirit  of 
God,  he  naturally  desires  to  enforce  the  practical 
lessons  of  this  new  and  revolutionary  situation. 
Though  we  cannot  trace  all  the  reasons  for  his 
specific  exhortations,  we  cannot  doubt  that  he  had 
in  mind  the  exact  moral  condition  and  dangers  of 
the  Galatian  churches.      It  is  instructive  to  note 


I30   Westminster  New  Testament 

that  he  begins  with  an  apparently  minor  morality, 
but  one  that  is  the  peculiar  temptation  of  a 
community  absorbed  in  keen  and  angry  disputation. 
Perhaps  he  was  conscious  of  his  own  danger  and 
the  more  alive  to  theirs,  for  "  Let  us  not  be  vain- 
glorious (R.V.),  provoking  one  another,  envying 
one  another/'  he  says.  Any  one  who  has  tasted 
ecclesiastical  and  doctrinal  controversy  knows 
exactly  what  that  means ;  and  he  knows  that 
when  party  rivalry  and  passion  inflame  the  heart 
no  '^walking  by  the  Spirit"  is  there  possible. 
The  "fruit  of  the  Spirit"  (ver.  22)  withers  or 
corrupts  on  the  branches  of  the  Holy  Vine. 


Gal.  vi.  1-5. 

3.    MUTUAL   RELATIONS   OF  THE 
SPIRITUAL. 

1  Brethren,  if  a  man  be  overtaken  in  a  fault,  ye  which  are 
spiritual,  restore  such  a  one  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  ;  con- 

2  sidering  thyself,  lest  thou  also  be  tempted.     Bear  ye  one 

3  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ.     For  if 
a  man  think  himself  to  be  something,  when  he  is  nothing, 

4  he  deceiveth  himself.     But  let  every  man  prove  his  own 
work,  and  then  shall  he  have  rejoicing  in  himself  alone,  and 

5  not  in  another.     For  every  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden. 

In  every  formal  association  of  men  the  members 
hold  each  other  responsible  for  the  observance  of 
the  conditions  and  rules  of  the  association.  In  the 
Christian  Society  this  task  is  peculiarly  difficult. 
The  rules  here  concern  matters  ideal,  spiritual, 
personal,  such  as  no  other  institution  can  pretend 
to  take  account  of.     For  instance,  there  is  a  danger 


Galatians  vi.  1-5 


i-^i 


that  men  on  the  outlook  for  faults  in  then*  neiffh- 
hours  may  forget  that  the  rules  of  this  society 
include  the  whole  matter  of  mutual  esteem,  and 
that  a  man  may  sin  against  these  rules  very  deeply 
by  the  motive  and  manner  in  which  he  regards  a 
brother  who  has  committed  an  outward  trespass. 
In  those  young  Galatian  churches  there  must  have 
been  many  whose  crude  notions  of  right  and  wrong 
led  to  overt  acts  and  words,  which  the  lofty 
morality  of  the  Christian  spirit  must  condemn. 
Especially  when  controversy  about  the  very  essence 
of  the  gospel  was  creating  disorder  might  we 
expect  to  find  recrimination  grown  harsh,  and 
condemnation  at  once  proud  and  relentless.  To 
that  situation  this  paragraph  is  addressed.  It 
cannot  be  summarized,  so  packed  with  energy  and 
meaning  is  each  hot  successive  statement.  The 
whole  passage  (with  v.  26)  takes  up  again  the 
thought  of  V.  13-15. 

1.  Brethren.  The  word  of  urgency  and  affec- 
tion, perhaps  suggesting  here  that  the  conduct 
recommended  is  alone  worthy  of  brothers  in  Christ. 
if  a  man  ...  in  a  fault.  R.V.,  ''  even  if  a  man 
be  overtaken  in  any  trespass."  Opinions  differ  as 
to  whether  "  overtaken "  means  that  a  man  has 
been  surprised  by  temptation  into  a  sudden  sin, 
or  has  been  caught  by  others  in  the  act  of  sin.  The 
context  and  the  word  "  even  "  of  the  R.V.  would 
seem  to  justify  the  latter  interpretation.  ye 
which  are  spiritual  (cf  i  Cor.  ii.  is,  15,  etc., 
occurring  15  times  in  1  Cor.).  This  is  not  addressed 
to  the  self-satisfied,  conscious  of  moral  superiority. 
It  means  "  ye,  as  people  who  are  led  by  the  Spirit 
of  God."  restore.  There  is  no  reference  here  to 
ecclesiastical  action,  though  that  is  not  excluded. 


132   Westminster  New  Testament 

It  is  personal  work  which  is  required,  patient  and 
kindly  dealing,  as  with  a  wounded  man.  spirit  of 
meekness  (cf.  v.  23  ;  l  Cor.  vi.  21).  Meekness 
has  been  called  "  the  supreme  mark  of  a  spiritual 
man." 

2.  The  burdens  may  be  of  all  kinds,  but  probably 
the  Apostle  was  thinking  of  moral  burdens,  and  of 
the  perplexity  and  sorrow  which  oppressed  the 
repentant  soul,  the  law  of  Christ  (cf.  V.  13,  14). 
To  serve  one  another  in  love  was  Christ's  work 
(Matt.  XX.  26-28  ;  John  xiii.  1-17).  It  is  a  law  above 
the  Mosaic  law ;  its  fulfilment  flows  from  a  Person 
in  whom  it  was  embodied  and  set  forth. 

3.  Spiritual  conceit  is  a  most  subtle  poison.  In 
it  a  man  becomes  his  own  deceiver.  His  self-esteem 
is  the  exposure  of  his  nothingness. 

4.  While  tender  towards  others,  a  man  should 
prove  or  scrutinize  his  Own  WOrk.  Let  him  not 
be  content  with  his  inner  motives  and  emotions, 
but  look  at  the  thing  he  does,  the  whole  outward 
expression  of  himself  have  rejoicing  in.  R.V., 
"  have  his  glorying  in  regard  of."  He  will  have  the 
ground  of  his  boasting — if  he  can  find  any — not 
through  his  fancied  superiority  to  "another  "  (R.V., 
"  his   neighbour "),   but   in   reference  to    himself 

alone. 

5.  The  burden  (R.V.  margin,  "  load  ")  means 
the  pack  or  kit  which  each  soldier  of  Christ  must 
bear.  Carry  your  own  kit  and  help  with  the  other 
man's  crushing  burden. 


Galatians  vi.  6-10  133 


Gal.  vi.  6-10. 
4.    SPIRITUAL  BOONS  AND  CARNAL  GIFTS. 

6  Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word  communicate  unto  him 

7  that  teacheth  in  all  good  things.     Be  not  deceived  ;  God  is 
not  mocked  :  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he 

8  also  reap.     For  he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh 
reap  corruption  ;  but  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit  shall  of 

9  the  Spirit  reap  life  everlasting.     And  let  us  not  be  weary  in 
well  doing  :  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not. 

10  As  we  have  therefore  opportunity,  let  us  do  good  unto  all 
men,  especially  unto  them  who  are  of  the  household  of 
faith. 

This  paragraph,  like  the  rest,  must  have  been 
addressed  to  the  exact  circumstances  of  the  Galatian 
churches.  It  deals  in  a  deep  and  trenchant 
manner  with  the  use  of  money  for  spiritual  ends ; 
and  it  indicates  that  the  Judaizers  had  been  inter- 
fering with  this  aspect  of  the  life  of  those  churches. 
The  Apostle,  in  his  organization  of  those  churches, 
must  have  secured  that  certain  persons  should  be 
set  apart  for  the  work  of  teaching  and  for  over- 
seeing the  "  charities "  of  the  community.  An 
attack  upon  his  gospel  would  lead  naturally  to  an 
attack  upon  so  fundamental  a  feature  of  the  new 
movement.  No  systematic  undermining  of  his 
whole  conception  of  the  Church  could  fail  to  under- 
mine the  position  of  those  who  were  appointed  to, 
and  supported  in,  the  teaching  of  his  gospel,  and 
its  social,  ethical  issues.  Although  vers.  7-10 
do  state  general  principles,  capable  of  varied  and 
far-reaching  applications,  both  their  statement  and 
their  immediate  application  here  rise  out  of  the 
particular  law  of  the  new  communities   which   is 


134    Westminster  New  Testament 

stated  in  ver.  6.  Unless  such  a  view  of  the 
paragraph  is  taken  we  must  either  treat  ver.  6  as 
a  parenthesis,  an  abrupt  command  unrelated  and 
unargued,  or  we  must  interpret  it,  with  Meyer,  as 
having  no  reference  to  the  payment  of  teachers,  but 
solely  to  fellowship  in  moral  and  spiritual  ^'^goods." 

6.  Let  him,  etc.  R.V.,  "But  let  him."  The 
adversative  '^  but "  links  this  statement  closely  to 
what  has  been  said  of  the  mutual  relations  of 
believers,  and  especially  to  the  last  words  about 
the  individual  burden,  taught  in  the  word. 
Early  in  the  Church's  life  it  became  clear  that 
some  must  be  set  apart  to  "  the  ministry  of  the 
word"  (Acts  vi.  2-4).  St.  Paul  recognizes  and 
discusses  this  necessity  throughout  his  work  (Acts 
xiv.  23,  XX.  17,  28  ;  Phil.  i.  1,  2  ;  and  the  Pastoral 
Epistles)  and  emphasizes  the  responsibility  of  the 
churches  for  the  maintenance  of  their  ministers 
(cf  1  Cor.  ix.  6-18;  2  Cor.  ix.  6-15;  Rom.  xv.  27; 
Phil.  iv.  15  ;  1  Tim.  v.  17, 18).  communicate.  The 
support  of  their  pastors  is  a  form  of  fellowship. 
It  is  a  spiritual  act. 

7.  God  is  not  mocked.  Lit.,  turning  up  the 
nose  at  one  (cf.  Luke  xvi.  14  and  xxiii.  35). 
for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  etc  In  these 
words,  and  in  ver.  8,  the  Apostle  uses  a  well-known 
general  principle  (cf.  Hos.  viii.  7 ;  Job  iv.  8 ; 
Mark  iv.   1  ff.)  to  illustrate  the  present  matter. 

8.  The  Revised  Version  is  right  to  translate 
"  soweth  unto  his  own  flesh "  to  describe  the 
man  who  sees  nothing  to  do  with  money  but  to 
use  it  for  selfish,  temporal  ends.  But  R.V.  is 
probably  wrong  to  print  the  word  "  Spirit "  with 
a  capital,  as  if  the  direct  reference  were  to  the 
Holy  Spirit.     What    he    means    is    that   God   has 


Galatians  vi.  11-16  135 

established  a  deep  law  that  the  man  who  lives 
only  for  present  or  fleshly  interests  shall  get  only 
the  appropriate  rewards,  and  he  only  who  "  soweth  " 
for  the  life  of  his  spiritual  nature  shall  receive  the 
appropriate  reward  of  that  labour  and  foresight. 
The  one  reward  is  corruption,  the  other  eternal 
life.  This  applies  directly  to  those  who  spend 
their  money  in  order  to  receive  instruction  in  the 
things  of  the  spirit  (cf.  Rom.  viii.  5-8,  21).  This 
is  a  Divine  principle  and  men  cannot  afford  to 
"turn  up  their  noses"  at  it,  as  if  the  results 
could  be  evaded. 

9,  10.  In  these  verses  the  exhortation,  while 
general  in  form,  finds  its  nerve  in  this  very  matter 
of  giving  money.  In  this  men  soon  lose  heart 
and  faint.  (For  this  word  cf.  Matt.  xv.  32 ;  Mark 
viii.  8 ;  Heb.  xii.  3.)  Let  us  remember  the  due 
or  appointed  season  of  harvest,  and  seize  the 
time  that  now  is  for  being  generous.  The  word 
"  good  "  must  be  connected  with  "  all  good  things  " 
in  ver.  6,  and  referred  to  material  gifts,  toward 
all  men.  From  the  first  the  Christian  spirit, 
while  concentrating  affection  and  beneficence  upon 
fellow-believers,  of  the  household  of  faith  (Eph. 
ii.  19 ;  Tim.  v.  8),  reached  out  to  all  men.  The 
root  of  all  love  for  humanity  is  in  the  love  of 
the  children  of  our  Father. 

CONCLUSION. 

(Gal.  vi.  11-18.) 
I.  AN  AUTOGRAPH  MESSAGE  (vi.  11-16). 

11  Ye  see  how  large  a  letter  I  have  written  unto   you  with 

12  mine  own  hand.     As  many  as  desire  to  make  a  fair  shew 


136   Westminster  New  Testament 

in   the  flesh,   they  constrain  you  to  be  circumcised  ;  only 
lest  they  should  suffer  persecution  for  the  cross  of  Christ. 

13  For  neither  they  themselves  who  are  circumcised  keep  the 
law  ;  but  desire  to  have  you  circumcised,  that   they  may 

14  glory  in  your  flesh.  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the 

15  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world.  For 
in   Christ    Jesus   neither    circumcision   availeth    anything, 

16  nor  uncircumcision,  but  a  new  creature.  And  as  many 
as  walk  according  to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  them,  and 
mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God. 

The  eleventh  verse  shows  that  the  Apostle 
ceased  at  this  point  to  dictate,  took  up  the  pen, 
and  in  large,  emphatic  handwriting  set  down  this 
brief,  fearless,  passionate,  and  conclusive  paragraph. 
Three  elements  or  aims  are  discernible  in  it.  (l) 
The  sharp  and  decisive  statement  of  the  irrecon- 
cilable principles  of  law  and  grace — the  method 
of  "the  flesh"  (vers.  12,  13,  15)  and  of  the  Cross 
(vers.  12,  14);  (2)  the  emphatic  exposure  of  the 
sinister  motives  of  the  Jewish  Christians  who  fear 
persecution  (ver.  12)  and  desire  to  boast  that  they 
have  won  adherents  to  the  law  (ver.  13);  (3)  the 
reassertion  of  his  own  position,  based  on  his  funda- 
mental experience  of  the  power  of  the  Cross  (ver. 
14).  The  paragraph  ends  with  a  singularly 
beautiful  benediction,  especially  suggestive  and 
impressive  in  its  very  last  words — "The  Israel 
of  God." 

11.  Ye  see  how  large  a  letter.   R.V.,  "See 

with  how  large  letters  "  (cf.  Rom.  xvi.  22  ;  2  Thess. 
iii.  17  ;  Philem.  19,  21).  The  Apostle  ceases  to  dictate 
and,  as  seems  to  have  been  his  custom,  writes  the 
concluding  words  with  his  own  hand.  He  calls 
attention  to  the  large   style    of  writing  which  he 


Galatians  vi.  11-16  137 

will  use  for  this  important  summary^  and  proceeds 
to  write  a  longer  paragraph  than  seems  to  have 
been  his  custom.  I  have  written.  R.V.  margin, 
^^  write."  The  perfect  tense  in  English  is  the 
literal  translation,  but  the  present  "^  write  "  is  the 
correct  English  idiom.  The  writer  in  Greek  put 
himself  at  the  point  of  view  of  the  man  who  was 
to  read.  Paul  meant,  "  When  you  read  this,  note 
with  what  emphatic  large  letters  I  have  written 
the  following  summary  of  the  whole  situation." 
A  good  example  is  Philem.  \Q,  where  he  says  "I 
have  written  "  just  before  the  words  he  refers  to — 
"I  will  repay." 

12.  in  the  flesh.  We  must  connect  this  word 
with  its  meaning  in  iii.  3.  The  Jews  insisted  on 
circumcision,  compel  yOU.  R.V.,  "constrain  you." 
Because  they  believed  in  the  utility  of  the  fleshly 
ordinances,  which  Paul's  gospel  condemned  as 
valueless.  The  Jewish  Christians  tried  to  maintain 
their  good  standing  (fair  shew)  among  their 
countrymen  because  they  feared  persecution 
(cf.  the  record  of  fierce  persecution  in  these  veiy 
churches.  Acts  xiii.  S9,  50,  xiv.  1-7,  19).  for  the 
cross  of  Christ.  The  ground  of  persecution 
was  the  assertion  that  the  death  of  Christ  had 
broken  the  authority  of  the  law  (iii.   10-14). 

13,  These  verses  (12,  13)  must  refer  to  Jews 
who  professed  Christianity.  Paul  maintains  that 
their  position  with  the  double  motive  of  ver.  12 
is  really  a  weak  and  intolerable  compromise. 
Though  circumcised  they  do  not  "  keep  the  law  " 
(R.V.  mar-gin,  "a  law").  The  word  "keep"  is 
variously  used  in  N.T.  :  to  guard  a  prisoner, 
Acts  xii.  4  ;  to  protect  some  one,  2  Thes.  iii.  3  ; 
to  treasure  something,  1  Tim.  vi.  20;  2  Tim.  i.  12  ; 


138    Westminster  New  Testament 

to  obey  definite  commands,  Matt.  xix.  20.  In  Acts 
xxi.  24  we  have  the  nearest  approach  to  the 
meaning  here,  and  an  instructive  comparison  is 
possible  (cf.  Rom.  ii.  26).  But  here  the  definite 
article  is  deliberately  omitted.  To  "  guard  law  " 
(cf.  notes  on  meaning  of  "law"  in  Rom.  ii.)  must 
here  refer  not  to  any  breach  of  any  one  moral  law 
(a  law)  or  of  the  Mosaic  law  specifically  (the  law), 
but  to  the  legalist  principle.  Like  Peter  at 
Antioch  (ii.  14  ;  cf.  the  argument  of  iii.  2-5)  these 
men  who  believed  in  Christ  were  trying  to  preserve 
also  the  habit  and  principle  of  dependence  upon 
"law."  But  as  believers  they  do  not  and  cannot 
succeed  in  this,  but  desire.  R.V.,  "  but  they  desire." 
This  poor  compromise  arises  from  a  worldly  and 
sinister  motive.  They  still — again  like  Peter  at 
Antioch — feel  the  pressure  of  their  "set,"  and  long 
to  stand  well  with  their  old  compeers.  The 
ancient  passion  for  proselytizing  drives  them  still. 
They  long  to  boast  that  they  have  added  to  the 
number  of  "the  circumcised."  The  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  was  mainly  occasioned  by  the  same 
confusions  of  opinion  and  vision,  which  sentiment 
for  the  old  created  among  men  who  had  passed 
into  a  new  world. 

14.  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory. 
R.V.,  "  But  far  be  it  from  me  to  glory."  On  "  God 
forbid"  see  note  (Rom.  vi.  1).  The  Apostle  fre- 
quently refers  to  "boasting"  or  "glorying"  as  a 
natural  impulse,  which  becomes  either  a  virtue  or 
a  sin  according  to  its  meaning  and  occasion  (cf. 
1  Cor.  i.  31  ;  Rom.  v.  27).  by  whom  {margin, 
whereby).  R.  V.,  "  through  which  "  {inargin,  whom). 
Paul  has  learned  that  there  is  no  ground  of  human 
confidence  (cf.  Phil.  iii.  3  ff.)  save  in  the  atoning 


Galatians  vi.  17,  1 8  139 

death  of  Christ.  Confidence  in  that  means  a  break 
with  the  "world/'  with  the  whole  system  of 
external  rites  and  ceremonies,  so  complete  that 
death  itself  is  the  only  true  analogy. 

15.  So  complete,  indeed,  that  these  rites  have 
simply  no  meaning  or  reality  in  the  new  universe 
to  which  faith  in  the  Cross  of  Christ  points  a  man. 
Then,  "a  new  creature,"  or  better  with  R.V. 
margin  '^  new  creation,"  opens  out  in  which  the 
fleshly  ordinances  have  no  place  at  all  (cf.  v.  6 
and  Col.  ii.  20).  The  words  in  Christ  JeSUS 
are  rightly  omitted  by  R.V. 

16.  and  upon  the  Israel   of  God.  ''and" 

introduces  an  explanation  or  addition  to  the  pre- 
ceding phrase  as  many  as  walk  according  to 
this  rule,  namely,  true  and  thorough  believers 
in  Christ  (for  this  use  of  "and"  cf  Heb.  xi.  17; 
Mark  x.  45).  "  Israel  of  God  "  involves  the  same 
principle  as  that  discussed  under  the  heirship  of 
Abraham  (iii.  1-29;  Rom.  iv.  11-17).  (Cf.  John 
i.   48;  Rom.  ii.   28,  29;  Eph.  ii.  12.) 

Gal.  vi.  17,  18. 

2.  THE  STIGMATA  OF  JESUS  AND 
BENEDICTION. 

17  From  henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  me  :  for  I  bear  in  my 

18  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.     Brethren,  the  grace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirit.     Amen. 

1 7.  This  verse  is  full  of  passion  but  not  of  anger. 
It  springs  from  the  consciousness  of  apostleship. 
The  protagonist  for  the  gospel  of  grace  knows  that 
the  attack  on  that  gospel  has  been  tinged  with 
hostility  to  himself  as  its  leading  expounder.     The 


I40   Westminster  New  Testament 

attack  has  wounded  and  burdened  him.  The 
agony  which  was  uttered  in  i.  6-10  and  iv.  12-20 
utters  here  its  last  word  of  pain.  When  he  says 
"  Let  no  man  trouble  me "  (for  this  phrase  cf. 
Mark  xiv.  6  ;  Luke  xi.  1,  xviii.  5,  etc.),  it  is  no 
feverish  or  selfish  moan  that  escapes  him.  It  is 
the  sense  that  in  attacking  him  the  enemy  reveal 
their  hatred  of  the  gospel  for  which  alone  he 
labours,  for  I  bear,  etc.  R.V.,  ^^for  I  bear 
branded  on  my  body  the  marks  of  Jesus."  He  is 
the  slave  of  Jesus,  who  owns  and  uses  him  for  His 
service ;  and  in  that  service  he  has  received 
wounds  which  mark  him  for  ever  as  the  bond- 
servant of  that  living  Master  (Acts  xiii.  50,  xiv. 
5,  19). 

18.  The  benediction,  which  is  a  prayer  of  intense 
faith  and  feeling,  ends  (as  in  R.V.)  with  the  word 
"  brethren  "  or  brothers,  striking  as  the  last  note 
of  a  letter  which  has  used  so  many  chords  of  power, 
varied  with  harsh  discords  and  sweetest  melodies, 
the  tone  of  tender  and  appealing  confidence  and 
love. 


ROMANS. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Rom.  i.  1-7. 
I.  FORMAL  AND  PERSONAL. 

1  Paul,  a  servant   of  Jesus   Christ,  called  to  be  an  apostle, 

2  separated  unto  the  gospel  of  God,  (which  he  had  promised 

3  afore  by  his  prophets  in  the  holy  Scriptures,)  concerning 
his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  which  was  made  of  the  seed 

4  of  David  according  to  the  flesh ;  and  declared  to  be  the  Son 
of  God  with  power,  according  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  by 

5  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  :  by  whom  we  have  received 
grace  and  apostleship,  for  obedience  to  the  faith  among  all 

6  nations,  for  his  name  :  among  whom  are  ye  also  the  called 

7  of  Jesus  Christ :  to  all  that  be  in  Rome,  beloved  of  God, 
called  to  be  saints  :  Grace  to  you,  and  peace,  from  God 
our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  opening  words  of  formal  address  and  saluta- 
tion are  fuller  than  in  any  other  epistle^  approached 
only  by  those  in  Gal.  i.  1-5  (see  notes  there).  The 
three  customary  elements  are  all  here — the  name 
and  description  of  the  writer,  the  name  or  descrip- 
tion of  the  persons  addressed,  and  the  greeting.  It 
is  the  first  of  these  that  is  here  expanded  to  unusual 
length  (vers.  1-6),  and  includes  a  double  reference 
to  the  Divine  origin  of  his  own  apostleship,  and  a 
remarkable   statement   regarding    the    Person   of 


142   Westminster  New  Testament 

Jesus  Christ.  Personally^  the  paragraph  reveals 
the  full  sense  of  an  authority  which  came  from 
God^  and  which  bore  upon  the  nature  and  power 
of  the  "gospel  of  God."  Historically,  it  proves 
that  already  a  community  of  Christians  were 
gathered  at  Rome,  to  whom  the  Apostle  could 
address  himself  with  confidence  as  sharers  in  a 
common  faith.  Doctrinally,  it  lays  bare  those  facts 
about  Christ  on  which  the  apostolic  churches  were 
founded  and  which  might  be  presupposed  in  any 
written  unfolding  of  the  nature  of  the  Christian 
life. 
1.  Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ.   R.V. 

margin,  "  bondservant."  On  the  name  "  Paul  "  see 
notes  on  Acts  xiii.  9-  For  readers  of  O.T.  the 
"  bondservant "  or  "  slave  of  Christ  Jesus  "  would 
recall  the  similar  way  in  which  prophets  described 
themselves  as  servants  of  Jehovah  (cf  Ps.  Ixxxix. 
3,  20 ;  Jer.  vii.  25  ;  Amos  iii.  7,  etc.).  Here  as 
elsewhere  in  N.T.  the  name  of  Christ  takes 
the  place  of,  yet  without  displacing,  the  name  of 
Jehovah,  for  the  Christian  consciousness  (cf  notes 
on  Gal.  i.  1  ff).    called  to  be  an  apostle.  Though 

this  phrase  only  occurs  again  in  1  Cor.  i.  11  the 
idea  is  present  in  other  passages  (cf  Acts  ix. 
1-19;  Gal.  i.  1,  15,  16;  Eph.  iii.  8,  9— the  best 
commentaries  on  this  phrase),  separated  (cf. 
Gal.  i.  15).  the  gospel  of  God.  God,  Creator 
and  Lord  of  all,  is  the  source  and  author  of  that 
great  new  world  of  truth  and  life  for  which  the 
one  word  "evangel"  or  "gospel"  has  become  at 
once  the  summary  and  the  technical  term  (Mark 
i.  1).  The  slave  of  Christ,  the  Apostle,  has  been 
wholly  and  finally  "  set  apart  "  for  the  one  supreme 
life-task  of  making  that  gospel  known. 


Romans  i.  1-7  143 

2,  From  our  Lord  Himself  the  apostles  learned 
to  comiect  the  new  with  the  old,  the  gospel  with 
the  promise,  the  full  revelation  on  the  planes  of 
history  with  the  forecasts  and  preparation  for  it  in 
O.T.  history  (Matt.  v.  17,  18;  Luke  xxiv.  27). 
The  Apostle  Paul  regarded  the  O.T.  as  sacred 
books,  as  the  voice  of  God  (cf.  Gal.  iii.  8,  22). 

3,  4.  The  R.V.  (1)  rightly  omits  the  words 
"Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,"  (2)  reads  ^^who  was 
born"  instead  of  which  was  made;  (3)  prints 
"spirit"  instead  of  Spirit,  (4)  rightly  translates 
"resurrection  of  the  dead"  instead  of  from  the 
dead,  (5)  adds  to  ver.  4  "  even  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."  These  verses  summarize  much  explicit 
teaching  about  the  Person  of  Christ  which  was 
apparently  given  at  the  very  foundation  of  all 
Christian  churches,  and  which  can  be,  as  it  were, 
cited  or  merely  referred  to  as  familiar  truth  in 
letters  which  were  written  to  deal  with  other 
aspects  and  problems  of  the  faith.  (Compare  the 
references  to  the  Incarnation  in  Gal.  iv.  4,  5 ; 
2  Cor.  iv.  4,  viii.  9;  Phil.  ii.  5-11  with  the  fuller 
exposition  in  Col.  i.  14-20,  when  Paul  was  writing 
to  a  community  beginning  to  be  troubled  with  that 
great  problem.)  (1)  The  gospel  message  concerns 
"His  Son,"  who  is  "Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 
Jesus  was  not  a  man  who  became  Son  of  God,  but 
the  Son  of  God  who  became  man  (Rom.  viii.  3).  He 
was  sent  into  our  world,  having  already  a  nature 
and  relations  with  the  eternal  God,  which  are 
dimly  symbolized  or  expressed  by  the  word  "Son." 
The  Gospels  show  that  the  term  "  Son  of  God " 
was  used  by  the  Jews  as  a  vague,  honorific  title 
for  their  expected  Messiah.  It  rapidly  acquired  a 
deeper  and  definite  meaning  from  Christ's  applica- 


144   Westminster  New  Testament 

tion  of  it  to  Himself,  along  with  His  peculiar  use 
of  the  term  "  Father "  and  "  My  Father/'  in 
relation  to  Himself  (Matt.  vii.  21^  x.  32,  SS,  xxv. 
34  ;  John  viii.  passim,  x.  17,  18,  36  if.).  (2)  The  Son 
of  God  took  his  place  in  history,  "  according  to  the 
flesh,"  and  did  so  as  a  descendant  of  David,  heir 
therefore  of  the  prophetic  visions  connected  with 
His  name  (cf  Matt.  i.  1,  ix.  27,  xii.  23,  xv.  22,  xx. 
30,  31,  xxi.  9,  15,  xxii.  42  and  parallels  in  Mark 
and  Luke,  with  2  Sam.  vii.  8-1 6  ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  3,  4  ; 
Isa.  ix.  7,  xi.  1).  (3)  The  resurrection  of  Christ 
was  the  full  revelation  of  His  glory  as  the  Son  of 
God.  It  declared  (inargin  in  A.V.  and  R.V.,  "deter- 
mined ")  or  marked  out  His  Divine  nature  "with" 
or  "in  power."  For  Paul  always  regards  that 
event  as  a  supreme  manifestation  at  once  of  the 
power  of  God  and  of  the  Lordship  of  Christ 
(Phil.  ii.  10,  11  ;  Eph.  i.  19-23).  (4)  The  con- 
trasted phrases  "according  to  the  flesh"  and 
"according  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness"  describe 
generally  the  sphere  within  which  the  actions 
take  place.  Through  and  in  the  world  known  as 
"the  flesh"  (cf.  note  on  Gal.  ii.  21)  He  appeared 
as  "  Son  of  David "  ;  through  and  in  the  powers 
described  by  the  phrase  "  Spirit  of  holiness "  He 
appeared  as  the  Son  of  God. 

5.  By  whom  ...  name.  R.V.,"  Through  whom 
we  received  grace  and  apostleship  into  obedience 
of  faith  among  all  the  nations,  for  his  name's  sake." 
grace.  One  of  the  words  which  in  the  N.T.  take 
on  a  depth  and  richness  of  meaning  unknown  in 
ordinary  usage.  Originally  meaning  gracefulness 
or  agreeableness  in  any  object,  it  came  to  mean 
the  disposition  of  kindness  on  the  part  of  the  giver 
or   the   receiver   of  a   gift   towards    one  another. 


Romans  i.  1-7  145 

Hence  it  may  be  used  either  for  generosity  or 
gratitude.  As  applied  to  God  in  His  relations  with 
men  it  became  inevitably  qualified  by  the  fact  of 
man's  sin  and  ill-desert.  It  then  signified  the 
freedom^  generosity_,  and  fulness  of  God's  love 
and  mercy  as  contrasted  with  the  righteous  wrath 
(Eph.  ii.  1,  10),  with  the  idea  that  God's  reward  of 
righteousness  is  payment  of  a  debt  (Rom.  iv.  4,  5), 
with  "the  law"  as  conceived  (wrongly)  to  be  a 
principle  or  source  of  salvation  (Gal.  v.  3,  4).  Grace 
is,  in  N.T.,  the  love  of  God  dealing  with  sin  and 
the  sinner  in  Christ  (Rom.  v.  2,  8,  15)  for  pardon 
(Rom.  V.  17,  18  ;  Eph.  i.  17),  cleansing,  and  deliver- 
ance (Rom.  vi.  14),  and  is  made  effective  in  us 
through  the  act  of  faith  (Rom.  iv.  4,  5  ;  Eph.  ii.  8). 
Hence  the  Apostle  habitually  names  it  along  with 
"peace"  in  his  benedictions  (ver.  7),  for  it  is  man's 
apprehension  of  the  meaning  and  power  and  direct 
personal  aim  of  God's  grace  that  creates  within 
him  the  "  peace  of  God  "  (Rom.  v.  1  ;  Phil.  iv.  7,  9). 
Paul  refers  often  to  his  apostleship  as  an  office  to 
which  he  was  appointed  by  the  grace  of  God  (cf. 
Eph.  iii.  2, 8).    for  obedience  to  the  faith  among 

all  nations.  R.V.,  "unto  obedience  of  faith  (//zargm, 
to  the  faith)  among  all  the  nations"  (for  "nations" 
read  "Gentiles").  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the 
gospel  has  become  the  supreme  law  of  human  life, 
which  can  only  be  fulfilled  or  obeyed  through  faith. 
The  act  of  faith  is  an  act  of  obedience  (cf.  Gal.  iii. 
2-5  ;  Rom.  iii.  27,  x.  l6).  The  gospel  has  final 
authority  over  the  whole  race.  Gentiles  as  well  as 
Jews,  for  His  name.  R.  V.,  "  for  his  name's  sake." 
That  the  riches  of  His  revelation,  summed  up  in 
His  name,  may  be  effective. 

6.  the  called  of  Jesus  Christ.   R.V.,  "called 


146   Westminster  New  Testament 

to  be  Jesus  Christ's."  It  is  evident  that  Paul  is 
addressing  the  Roman  Christians  as  a  community 
composed  for  the  most  part  of  Gentiles.  They 
have  heard  the  "  call "  of  Christ  and  have  become 
His  property. 

7.  in  Rome  (see  Introduction,  pp.  33  if.),  be- 
loved of  God.  Great  and  startling  words  when 
addressed  to  a  definite  group  of  human  beings 
conscious  of  sin.  called  to  be  saints.  God's 
love  commands  and  summons  men  to  surrender 
themselves  to  Him,  to  be  separated  unto  Him. 
The  words  "called"  and  "saints"  have  each  a 
previous  history.  Each  is  deepened  and  intensified 
by  the  gospel.  (For  origin  of  the  phrase,  vid. 
International  Commentary  on  Romans  by  Sanday 
and  Headlam.)  Our  Lord  uses  the  word  "called" 
(Matt.  XX.  16,  xxii.  14).  Paul  uses  it  about  fifteen 
times  in  both  forms,  "calling"  and  "called,"  to 
describe  the  act  of  God  in  summoning  individuals 
through  the  gospel  to  repentance  and  faith  (except 
1  Cor.  vii.  20),  or  to  the  service  of  an  apostle 
(1  Cor.  i.  26;  Eph.  iv.  1 ;  Phil.  iii.  14;  Rom.  viii. 
28;  1  Cor.  i.  24).  The  word  "saints"  goes  back 
to  the  O.T.  consecration  of  objects  to  the  worship 
of  Jehovah.  As  they  were  "  holy  "  or  "  set  apart," 
so  Jehovah  came  to  be  spoken  of  as  in  Himself 
"holy,"  perhaps  at  first  in  His  exaltation  above 
earthly  things  and  taint,  but  finally  in  His  very 
character  and  being.  Then  His  holiness,  when 
ethically  grasped,  became  the  basis  for  demanding 
personal,  moral  holiness  in  His  people  (Lev.  xi.  44, 
45,  xix.  2  ;  1  Pet.  i.  I6).  In  N.T.  it  is  used  of  God 
(Rev.  iv.  4),  but  with  great  frequency  and  signifi- 
cance applied  to  the  eternal  Spirit  of  God,  as  "  the 
Holy  Spirit."     When   applied    to   all  believers   it 


Romans  i.  8-17  147 

expresses  not  the  idea  that  they  are  perfect  in 
character,  but  the  double  idea  that  they  are  con- 
secrated or  set  apart  for  God  in  Christ,  and  are 
expected  to  manifest  His  character  in  their  lives. 

Grace  to  you,  and  peace  (see  note  on  Gal.  i.  3). 
God  our  Father.  The  "  beloved  of  God "  have 
no  name  for  Him  dearer  or  higher  than  that  of 
Father,  which  they  have  received  from  "  the  Son  " 
Himself  {yid.  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  Parable 
of  the  Prodigal  Son),  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
The  Apostle  names  him  no  less  than  six  times  in 
these  seven  verses.  "Lord"  refers  to  His  supreme 
power  and  authority;  "Jesus"  to  His  historical 
manifestation  and  personality ;  "  Christ "  to  His 
fulfilment  of  the  saving  promise  and  purpose  of 
God. 


Rom.  i.  8-17. 

2.  THE  APOSTLE'S  YEARNING  TO  PREACH 
AT  ROME. 

8  First,  I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  Christ  for  you  all, 
that  your  faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world. 

9  For  God  is  my  witness,  whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in  the 
gospel  of  his  Son,  that  without  ceasing  I  make  mention  of 

10  you  always  in  my  prayers  :  making  request,  if  by  any 
means  now  at  length  I  might  have  a  prosperous  journey  by 

1 1  the  will  of  God  to  come  unto  you.  For  I  long  to  see  you, 
that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual  gift,  to  the  end 

12  ye  may  be  established  ;  that  is,  that  I  may  be  comforted 
together  with  you  by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  you  and  me. 

13  Now  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  that  often- 
times I  proposed  to  come  unto  you,  (but  was  let  hitherto,) 
that  I  might  have  some   fruit  among  you  also,  even   as 

14  among  other  Gentiles.     I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks, 


148   Westminster  New  Testament 

and  to  the  Barbarians  ;  both  to  the  wise,  and  to  the  unwise. 

15  So,  as  much  as  in  me  is,  I  am  ready  to  preach  the  gospel 

16  to  you  that  are  at  Rome  also.  For  I  am  not  ashamed  of 
the  gospel  of  Christ :  for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tion to  every  one  that  believeth  ;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also 

17  to  the  Greek.  P'or  therein  is  the  righteousness  of  God 
revealed  from  faith  to  faith  :  as  it  is  written,  The  just  shall 
live  by  faith. 

In  these  ten  verses  the  Apostle  describes  to  the 
Romans  the  long  and  intense  yearning  which  he 
has  cherished  to  visit  and  labour  among  them 
(9-12).  But  he  has  hitherto  been  prevented  from 
doing  this  and  now  seems  to  believe  that  the 
obstacles  are  being  removed  (13).  He  feels  him- 
self a  debtor  to  all  men^  and  therefore  to  the 
Romans,  in  respect  of  that  great  thing  of  which 
he  has  been  put  in  charge^  viz.  the  gospel  (14-16). 
It  is  the  ^^  Power  of  God  "  addressed  to  and  work- 
ing through  faith^  and  hence  available  for  all  men 
of  every  race  (16,  17). 

8.  is  Spoken  of.  The  Apostle  simply  means 
that  the  existence  of  a  Christian  Church  in  Rome 
was  known  wherever  Christianity  had  spread  (cf. 
1  Thess,  i.  8).  The  fact  was  so  important  that  he 
says  it  ^^was  proclaimed"  (R.V.)  (cf  I  Cor.  xi.  26); 
and  he,  who  seems  to  have  the  Empire  ever  in  his 
view  as  a  citizen  and  a  missionary  statesman,  is 
moved  to  profound  gratitude  over  their  ^^  faith/' 
i.e.  their  acceptance  of  the  gospel. 

9,  10.  whom  I  serve  (cf  Acts  xxvii.  23  ;  Phil, 
lii.  3 ;  Matt.  iv.  4).  in  my  spirit.  The  higher 
nature  of  man,  the  point  of  contact  with  the  Spirit 
of  Cjod  (viii.  16).    that  without  ceasing  .  .  . 

will    of   God.    R.V.,   ^^how    unceasingly    I    make 
mention   of   you,  always   in    my   prayers    making 


Romans  i.  8-17  149 

request^  if  by  any  means  now  at  length  I  may  be 
prospered  by  the  will  of  God."  On  Paul's  pastoral 
prayers  cf.  Eph.  iii.  14-19;  Phil.  i.  3-11;  Col.  i. 
3-6,  9-12).  The  intensity  of  his  prayers,  "even 
for  as  many  as  have  not  seen  my  face/'  is  revealed 
in  Col.  ii.  1. 

11.  some  spiritual  gift.  This  phrase  may  not 
include  miracles  in  this  passage  (cf.  Gal.  iii.  5  ; 
1  Cor.  xii.  4,  10,  28),  for  the  following  verse  points 
to  the  moral  sphere,  being  comforted  in  and  by 
each  other's  faith. 

1 3.  There  may  have  been  some  unrecorded  reason 
for  this  full  explanation  of  his  frequent  plans  and 
their  frustration.  From  those  whom  he  knew  in 
Rome  and  whom  he  met  in  his  travels,  a  desire  for 
such  a  visit  may  have  been  expressed  (cf.  Acts  xviii. 

12;   1  Cor.  xvi.  19).    among  other  Gentiles. 

R.V.,  "in  the  rest  of  the  Gentiles."  His  great 
passion  is  to  produce  fruit  (John  xv.  5,  8), 
especially  among  the  Gentiles  to  whom  he  was 
appointed  (Acts  xxii.  21,  xxvi.  16-21  ;  Gal.  i.  l6). 
Hence  his  eager  desire  (ver.  11,  "  I  long")  to  serve 
this  Gentile  Church  in  Rome. 

14.  debtor.  He  was  under  an  obligation  (1  Cor. 
ix.  i6).    Greeks,  Barbarians.  That  is,  people 

who  spoke  Greek  and  the  miscellaneous  races  of 
the  Empire,  wise,  foolish.  The  educated  and 
the  unintelligent.  For  the  gospel  was  given  to 
"  the  world,"  hence  to  the  poor  (Matt.  xi.  5,  25), 
the  ignorant,  the  despised,  as  well  as  to  the 
mighty  and  the  noble  (1  Cor.  iii.  26  ff.). 

15.  Some  would  translate:  "Hence  my  strong 
desire  is  to  preach  the  gospel."  But  the  meaning 
is  the  same. 

16.  17.  Most  scholars  point  out  that  four  succes- 


ISO   Westminster  New  Testament 

sive  statements  each  beginning  with  ^^for"  are 
used  to  explain  this  eagerness.  The  mention  of 
''  shame  "  here  proves  that  the  Apostle  was  aware 
of^  perhaps  sensitive  to,  the  scorn  which  superior 
persons  then  (as  now)  heaped  on  the  "word  of 
the  cross"  (1  Cor.  i.  18).  The  sense  of  a  great 
daring  seized  him  w^hen  he  pictured  this  message 
taking  hold  of  Rome.  But  he  crushes  all  tempta- 
tion to  shrink,  and  repudiates  shame,  for  it  is 
the  power  of  God.  As  he  contemplates  imperial 
Rome  the  imperial  majesty  of  the  gospel  exalts 
itself  before  his  eyes.  The  gospel  is  the  supreme 
fact  in  human  life  henceforth ;  it  is  the  manifesta- 
tion and  exertion  of  the  eternal  force  resident  in 
God  (1  Cor.  i.  18,  24,  etc).  This  power  is 
effective  through  Christ  (1  Cor.  i.  24 ;  2  Cor.  xii. 
9  ;  of.  2  Pet.  i.  16)  and  the  Holy  Ghost  (Rom.  xv. 
13).  unto  salvation.  In  the  O.T.  salvation  was 
applied  to  the  act  of  Jehovah  in  the  deliverance 
of  Israel  out  of  Egypt  (Ex.  xiv.  30,  xv.  2  ;  Ps.  cvi. 
8  ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  8,  9)  and  from  exile  (Isa.  xlv.  17, 
etc.),  and  was  used  also  in  more  general  terms 
(Ps.  xxvii.  1,  Ixii.  1,  2,  7,  h.  12).  In  the  N.T 
(1)  the  word  is  used  of  the  general  hope  of 
salvation  in  the  day  of  the  Messiah  ;  (2)  while  the 
word  "Saviour"  is  applied  to  Jesus  only  twice  in 
the  gospel  (Luke  ii.  11  ;  John  iv.  42),  it  is  used 
freely  in  Acts  and  Epistles,  i.e.  after  He  had 
been  fully  revealed  as  the  Messiah  or  Christ  (Acts 
v.  31,  xiii.  23 ;  Phil.  iii.  20 ;  2  Tim.  i.  10 ;  Tit.  i.  4, 
ii.  13  ;  2  Pet.  i.  1,  iii.  2) ;  (3)  it  is  still  used  of  God 
(1  Tim.  i.  1,  ii.  3;  Tit.  i.  3,  ii.  10;  Jude  25);  (4) 
the  word  "salvation"  is  still  used  in  an  eschato- 
logical  sense,  i.e.  its  consummation  is  thrown  into 
the  future  (Rom.  xiii.  11  ;  2  Cor.  vii.   10;  Phil.  i. 


Romans  i.  8-17  151 

19,  iii.  20;  1  Thess.  v.  8;  Heb.  ix.  28;  1  Pet. 
i.  5),  but  it  is  begun  now  ;  it  takes  hold  of  us  in 
the  present  (2  Cor.  vi.  2 ;  Phil.  i.  28  ;  Heb.  ii.  3, 
V.  9).  The  gospel  as  the  manifested  force  of  God, 
and  exerted  upon  human  nature,  results  in  ultimate 
and  complete  deliverance  from  sin  and  wrath,  from 
all  evil  and  death  itself.  That  is  what  Paul  means 
by  *^^ salvation."  to  everyone  that  believeth, — 
i.e.  to  him,  whosoever  he  is,  who  in  an  act  of  trust 
has  committed  himself,  his  whole  relations,  char- 
acter, and  destiny  to  God  in  Christ.  The  N.T.  in 
general  teaches  this  fundamental  doctrine,  but  it 
is  Paul  who  in  his  writings  has  worked  out  its  full 
meaning  and  power  most  completely.  He  sees 
most  clearly  that  in  faith  a  man  (1)  apprehends 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  and  His  Divine  Sonship  ; 
(2)  feels  the  need  of  his  own  reconciliation  with 
God,  and  deliverance  from  the  power  of  sin  and 
death ;  (3)  sees  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Christ  as  deeds  of  God  which  have  the  salvation 
of  men  as  their  motive  and  end ;  (4)  commits 
himself  to  God  in  Christ  that  this  end  may  include, 
and  be  realized  in,  himself;  (5)  henceforth  lives 
out  of  that  attitude  of  humble  trust,  with  the 
energy  of  love,  gratitude,  and  hope,  in  the  assurance 
that  he  is  now  verily  dead  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto 
God  in  his  union  with  Christ  Jesus.  We  shall  see 
these  points  worked  out  with  great  thoroughness 
in  the  succeeding  argument  of  this  Epistle.  tO 
the  Jew  jfirst.  While  Paul  was  the  Apostle  to 
the  Gentiles,  and  is  here  addressing  a  Gentile 
Church,  he  is  never  disloyal  to  that  distinct  glory 
which  God  had  given  to  his  own  race  in  the 
working  out  of  salvation  for  the  whole  world 
(cf.  Rom.  iii.   1,  2).     Even   the  heated   argument 


152   Westminster  New  Testament 

of  Ep.  to  Gal.  against  the  Judaizers  rests  upon 
the  fact  that  salvation  has  flowed  in  history  (l) 
from  the  promise  to  Abraham  (Gal.  iii.  7) ;  (2) 
through  the  stormy  operation  of  the  law  (Gal.  iii. 
19)  ;  (3)  to  the  work  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  who 
was  ^'born  under  the  law"  (Gal.  iv.  4).  In  the 
argument  of  Rom.  ix.-xi.  we  shall  find  a  marvellous 
blending  of  admiration  for  God's  use  of  Israel 
with  faithful  exposition  of  the  sin  and  responsibility 
of  the  individual  Jew. 

17.  For  therein  .  .  .  faith.  R.V., «  For  there- 
in is  revealed  a  righteousness  of  God  by  (jnargifi, 
from)  faith  unto  faith."  therein  means  the  gospel, 
the  story  of  blessing  which  is  bound  up  with 
the  name  of  "  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"  (ver.  7).  righteousness  of  God.  The 
A.V.  trans,  "the  righteousness/'  is  preferable  to  R.V. 
"a  righteousness."  The  O.T.  knew  Jehovah  as  the 
Righteous  One,  who  "does  right  "(Gen.  xviii.  25), 
who  is  faithful  to  His  covenant  with  Israel 
(Isa.  xli.  8-10),  whose  ordinances  are  righteous 
(Ps.  cxix.  137-144,  xix.  9),  who  will  establish 
Israel  in  righteousness,  i.e.  vindicate  them  as  His 
people  before  all  men  (Isa  Ixi.  11,  Ixii.  Iff.).  In 
the  second  part  of  Isaiah  "righteousness"  is  thus 
used  not  merely  as  "  a  Divine  attribute  "  but  as 
"  a  Divine  effect."  "  It  is  something  produced 
by  God"  (A.  B.  Davidson).  In  this  fulness  of 
meaning  it  must  be  taken  here.  The  righteous- 
ness of  God  has  not  been  realized  among  men  by 
means  of  law.  A  new  way  has  been  found  by 
God  Himself.  He,  the  Righteous  One,  has  made 
righteousness  in  the  richest  and  most  varied 
meanings  of  that  term  (Luke  i.  69,  71,  77;  cf. 
xix.  9)  effective  and  real  among  men.     from  faith 


Romans  i.  i8-iii.  20  153 

to  faith.  This  making  of  a  righteous  world, 
which  is  salvation  (cf.  Ps.  xcviii.  2  ;  Isa,  li.  5,  6), 
is  achieved  by  awaking  limitless  faith — a  faith 
that  abolishes  all  doubt  and  drinks  in  the  fellow- 
ship of '^^  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  " 
continually.  For  every  act  of  faith,  in  and  from 
which  the  righteousness  of  God  is  realized,  will 
see  further  faith  possible,  height  beyond  height, 
of  the  righteousness  which  "  is  being  revealed." 
as  it  is  written,  etc.,  see  note  on  Gal.  iii.  11. 


PART  I.  THE  UNIVERSAL  NEED  OF 
SALVATION. 

(Rom.  i.   18-iii.  20.) 

The  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  verses  of  this 
chapter  have  given  us  a  brief  definition  of  the  gospel. 
The  Apostle  now  enters  on  the  great  task  of  explain- 
ing and  defending  that  gospel.  His  first  duty  is 
evidently  to  prove  that  "  salvation,"  or  a  revealed 
"righteousness  of  God,"  is  necessary  for  the  whole 
human  race.  This  can  only  be  done  by  a  survey 
of  the  actual  condition  of  mankind  in  respect  of 
righteousness,  that  is,  of  its  religious  and  moral 
state.     He  does  this  in  three  successive  arguments  ; 

(1)  the  condition  of  the  Gentile  world  in  i.  18-32  ; 

(2)  the  position  of  the  Jew  in  ii.  1-iii.  8  ;  (3)  the 
scriptural  declarations  on  the  subject  in  iii.  9-20. 
The  first  section  consists  of  two  main  portions. 
The  first  (vers.  18-23)  describes  man's  unfaithful- 
ness to  the  light  and  knowledge  of  God  which  he 


154   Westminster  New  Testament 

actually  possessed.  The  second  portion,  in  three 
brief  but  terrible  paragraphs,  describes  the  moral 
conditions  (vers.  24),  25,  26,  21,  28-32)  which  flow 
from  idolatry,  to  which  the  Apostle  says  three 
times  ^^God  gave  them  up." 


Rom.  i.  18-32. 

I.  THE  DOOM  OF  THE  GENTILE  WORLD. 
(a)  The  betrayal  of  knowledge  (i.  18-23). 

18  For  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all 
ungodliness  and   unrighteousness  of  men,    who    hold   the 

19  truth  in  unrighteousness  ;  because  that  which  may  be 
known  of  God  is  manifest  in  them  ;  for  God  hath  shewed  it 

20  unto  them.  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by 
the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  God- 

21  head  ;  so  that  they  are  without  excuse  :  because  that,  when 
they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither 
were  thankful ;  but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and 

22  their   foolish  heart  was  darkened.     Professing  themselves 

23  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools.  And  changed  the  glory  of 
the  uncorruptible  God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corrupt- 
ible man,  and  to  birds,  and  four  footed  beasts,  and  creeping 
things. 

In  this  paragraph  the  Apostle  declares  that 
instead  of  the  effective  righteousness  of  God,  the 
effective  wrath  of  God  has  been  and  is  in  operation 
among  men  (ver.  18)  ;  and  that,  because  (1)  men 
have  possessed  the  truth  about  God,  and  have 
learned  about  His  power  and  other  attributes  from 
the  visible  universe  (vers.    19,    20)  ;  but  (2)  their 


Romans  i.  18-23  155 

hearts  did  not  respond  in  admiration  and  gratitude 
to  Him  (ver.  21)  ;  for  (3)  becoming  vain  and 
foolish  they  gave  up  direct  worship  of  God  for  con- 
temptible idolatry. 

18.  the  wrath  of  God.  While  this  wrath  no 
doubt  is  brought  to  its  climax  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment (cf.  in  O.T.  "  the  day  of  Jehovah/'  Joel  ii.  31, 
iii.  12  ff.  ;  Isa.  ii.  12-22,  and  1  Thess.  i.  10),  the 
following  paragraphs    show    that    it  works   in  the 

history  of  man  now.     is  revealed  from  heaven. 

The  spiritual  eye  can  see  in  man's  experience 
that  wrath  is  upon  him.  It  is  a  revelation  which 
precedes,  leads  up  to,  and  makes  necessary  the 
revelation  of  righteousness  (ver.  17).  who  hold 
the  truth.  R.V.,  ^^who  hold  down  the  truth" 
(cf.  2  Thess.  ii.  6,  7). 

19,20.  The  "invisible  things"  are  his  eternal 

power  and  Godhead.    R.V.,  "  his  everlasting 

power  and  divinity."  The  nature  of  God  as  a 
personal  power  and  his  attributes  are  discoverable, 
they  are  actually  understood  (R.V.,  "  perceived  "), 
by  a  scrutiny  of  the  things  that  are  made.  And 
man  has  always  had  this  truth,  but  "  held  it  down." 
In  this  knowledge  man  is  not  the  only  or  the  chief 
active  agent,  for  God  hath  shewed  it  unto 
them.  R.V.,  "  manifested  it  unto  them."  The 
creation  of  the  world,  or,  as  we  should  say, 
"nature"  has  always  borne  witness  to  God;  and 
proof  can  be  found,  not  only  in  the  literature  of  the 
higher  religions,  but  in  the  beliefs  of  primitive 
folk,  that  the  soul  of  man  has  always  felt  itself 
in  the  presence  of  One  who  is  mighty  and  glorious, 
worthy  of  reverence  and  worship,  so  that  they 
are  without  excuse.  A.V.  margin,  "  that  they 
may    be."      The    R.V.    exchanges    the    text   and 


156   Westminster  New  Testament 

margin  of  A.V.,  unfortunately.  The  next  verse, 
with  its  because  shows  that  the  Apostle  simply 
looks  at  the  fact  that  they  are  without  excuse,  and 
declares  its  reason. 

21.  If  it  be  asked  why  such  obscurity  has  rested 
on  God's  name,  and  confusion  and  degradation  in 
man's  religious  history,  the  Apostle  answers  by 
la3ang  it  all  to  man's  account.  God  has  done  His 
part,  "manifested  it  unto  them"  (ver.  19),  and 
fashioned  the  world  as  the  symbol  through  which 
the  mind  (ver.  20)  could  recognize  Him ;  but  men 
have  failed  of  their  part.  (1)  Negatively,  they 
have  withheld  that  active  movement  of  their  life 
Godwards,  which  is  glorifying  Him,  delighting  in 
Him  as  God,  and  giving  thanks.  (2)  Positively, 
men    indulged     in     wilful     "  reasonings "      (A.V. 

imaginations)  which  ended  in  nothing,  they 
became  vain,  and  their  foolish  (R.V.,  "sense- 
less ")  heart  was  darkened  (cf.  Mark  vii.  18). 

22.  They  insisted  on  their  wisdom  (cf.  1  Cor. 
i.  21),  but  made  themselves  foolish. 

23.  The  climax  of  folly  is  in  this,  that  men 
turned  from  contemplating  the  pure  and  direct 
nature  of  God,  glorious  and  incorruptible,  and 
exchanged  it  for  an  image  made  like  to  (R.V., 
"the  likeness  of  an  image  of")  corruptible  man, 
and  even  of  creatures  down  to  the  lowest  and 
most  repulsive. 


(b)  The  resultant  and  judicial  degradation  (i.  24-32). 

24  Wherefore  God  also  gave  them  up  to  uncleanness,  through 
the  lusts  of  their  own  hearts,  to  dishonour  their  own  bodies 

25  between  themselves  ;  who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a 


Romans  i.  24-32  157 

lie,  and  worshipped  and  served  the  creature  more  than  the 

26  Creator,  who  is  blessed  for  ever.  Amen.  For  this  cause 
God  gave  them  up  unto  vile  affections  ;  for  even  their 
women  did  change  the  natural  use  into  that  which  is  against 

27  nature  :  and  likewise  also  the  men,  leaving  the  natural  use 
of  the  woman,  burned  in  their  lust  one  toward  another  ; 
men  with  men  working  that  which  is  unseemly,  and 
receiving   in   themselves   that    recompense   of  their   error 

28  which  was  meet.  And  even  as  they  did  not  like  to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a  repro- 
bate mind,  to  do  those  things  which  are  not  convenient ; 

29  being  filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  fornication,  wicked- 
ness,   covetousness,    maliciousness ;    full  of  envy,  murder, 

30  debate,  deceit,  malignity  ;  whisperers,  backbiters,  haters 
of  God,  despiteful,  proud,  boasters,  inventors  of  evil  things, 

31  disobedient  to  parents.  Without  understanding,  covenant- 
breakers,  without  natural  affection,  implacable,  unmerciful : 

32  who,  knowing  the  judgment  of  God,  that  they  which 
commit  such  things  are  worthy  of  death,  not  only  do  the 
same,  but  have  pleasure  in  them  that  do  them. 

9,4>,  25.  R.V._,  "Whereupon  God  gave  them  up 
in  the  lusts  of  their  hearts  unto  uncleanness,  that 
their  bodies  should  be  dishonoured  among  them- 
selves :  for  that  they  exchanged  the  truth  of  God 
for  a  lie  "  etc.  God  gave  them  up.  This  phrase 
(which  recurs,  vers.  26,  28)  expresses  the  continued 
action  of  God,  but  now  it  is  in  "wrath"  or 
judgment.  He,  as  it  were,  delivered  them  over  to 
alien  forces,  the  lusts  of  their  own  hearts. 
When  God  ceased  to  be  the  object  of  their  worship 
He  ceased  to  be  the  spring  of  their  action.  They 
were  left  to  find  their  life  wholly  within  the  sphere 
of  their  own  hearts  and  their  unclean  promptings. 
The  nexus  between  religion  and  morality  is  just 
there,  in  the  fact  that  the  supreme  object  of  our 


158    Westminster  New  Testament 

admiration  and  trust  becomes  inevitably  the  con- 
troller of  our  desires  and  the  reason  of  our  action. 
If  God  (the  truth  of  God)  is  given  up,  and  the 
creature  occupies  His  place  in  our  imagination  and 
admiration,  the  creation,  or  '^^  nature,"  alone  gives 

law  to  our  conduct,  more  than  the  Creator, 
who  is  blessed  for  ever.  Amen.  R.V.,  "  rather 
than."  As  the  Apostle  thinks  of  this  horror,  the 
preference  of  the  creature  to  the  Creator,  he  pauses, 
as  pious  Jewish  writers  did,  to  cleanse  his  mind 
with  an  act  of  adoration. 

26,  27.  Once  more,  and  more  fully  Paul  describes 
the  shameful  lengths  to  which  human  beings  could 

go  when  given  up  unto  vile  affections.  R.V., 

"  vile  passions  "  ;  margin,  "  passions  of  dishonour." 

28.  Yet  again  with  still  greater  detail,  the 
Apostle,  burning  with  holy,  moral  indignation, 
describes  the  issues  of  that  surrender  to  a  godless 
life,  as  they  appear  in  the  whole  range  of  sins, 
apart  from  sensuality,  which  infest  our  social  life. 

And  even  as  they  did  not  like  to  retain  God 
in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a 
reprobate  mind.  R.V.,  "And  even  as  they  re- 
fused (inargin,  "  did  not  approve  ")  to  have  God  in 
their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  up."  There  is 
a  slight  play  of  words  which  is  brought  out  by 
saying,  "  as  they  did  not  approve  of  keeping  God 
in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  up  to  the 
sway  of  a  disapproved  mind."  knowledge.  Same 
word  in  Phil.  i.  9,  signifying  a  high  degree  of 
knowledge,  more  than  superficial  acquaintance 
with  the  fact  of  God's  existence  or  character. 
Their  disapproval  implies  a  testing  of  God.  They 
deliberately  made  up  their  minds  that  they  would 
not  pursue  the  knowledge  of  God.     a  reprobate 


Romans  i.  24-32  159 

mind.  Their  mind  was  in  turn  tested  by  God  and 
given  up  to  itself  and  its  own  likings,  not  con- 
venient. R.V.^  ^^not  fitting."  This  word  only 
occurs  once  again  in  N.T.  (Acts  xxii.  22),  when  the 
Jews  found  it  offensive  that  Paul  should  live.  But 
Paul  may  have  echoed  its  use  by  Stoic  philosophers 
for  "duties." 

29,  30,  31.  No  classification  of  these  forms  of 
moral  evil  is  possible.  The  R.V.  unfortunately 
puts  "  hateful  to  God  "  in  the  text^  and  the  correct 
meanings  "haters  of  God/'  in  the  margin,  in- 
ventors of  evil  things,  means  "  the  tendency  to 
put  the  worst  construction  upon  things." 

32.  the  judgment  of  God.  R.V.,  "the 
ordinance  of  God."  They  know  well  the  rule 
which  God  has  established,  but  have  pleasure 
in  them  that  do  them.  R.V.,  "but  also  consent 
with  them  that  practise  them."  To  do  a  wrong 
deed;,  or  even  to  practise  wrong  individually,  is  one 
things  and  bad  enough.  But  to  have  a  hearty 
delight  in  the  social  practice  and  help  to  make  it 
social,  is  to  aggravate  guilt. 

Note.  —  Many  have  severely  condemned  this 
passage  of  the  Apostle  Paul's  great  epistle. 
He  is  said  to  have  here  slandered  human  nature, 
to  have  presented  a  picture  of  society  so  ex- 
aggerated that  no  society  could  have  survived 
such  a  collapse  of  all  human  decency  and 
social  order.  We  must  remember  (1)  that 
Roman  writers  themselves  have  described  Roman 
society  in  terms  quite  as  dark  as  this.  Tacitus 
says  of  Rome :  "  Nobility,  wealth,  the  refusal 
of  office,  its  acceptance — everything  was  a  crime 
and  virtue  the  surest  ruin "  (quoted  by  T.  R. 
Glover,     llie     Co?iJlict    of    Religion    in    the   Early 


i6o   Westminster  New  Testament 

Roman  Empire).  And  the  Roman  poets, 
Juvenal  and  Horace,  speak  no  less  terribly  of 
the  facts ;  (2)  Paul  does  not,  of  course,  mean  that 
every  individual  was  guilty  of  all  these  vices  and 
sins.  Religion  is  a  social  fact,  and  he  is  describing 
the  social  results  of  its  general  collapse  as  he  saw 
them  in  the  heathen  world ;  (3)  Paul  was  not 
slow  to  acknowledge  goodness  where  he  saw  it, 
as  the  next  chapter  will  show.  And  he  whose 
mind  in  beholding  the  welter  of  idolatrous  shrines 
at  Athens  could  pierce  to  the  significant  pathos  of 
the  altar  "to  the  unknown  God"  was  not  deaf  or 
dead  to  the  fact  that  all  around  were  men  whose 
souls  were  not  steeped  in  sensuality  or  crushed 
by  crime.  (5)  He  is  answering  the  question — Does 
this  world  need  salvation,  a  revealed  and  effective 
and  new  "  righteousness  of  God  "  }  This  he  answers 
faithfully  and,  as  history  shows,  he  answers  truly  when 
he  depicts  the  results  of  prolonged  godlessness  and 
idolatry,  as  he  has  done  in  this  appalling  passage. 


Rom.  ii.  i-iii.  20. 
2.  THE  CONDEMNATION  OF  THE  JEW. 

From  the  Gentile  world  in  its  dismal  state  the 
Apostle   turns    to   the    Jew.     But,    very  skilfully, 

(a)  he  begins  (ii.  1)  with  a  personal  argument  and 
without  naming  his  interlocutor.      It    is  not  until 

(b)  the  second  step  in  his  argument  (ver.  12)  that 
he  mentions  the  law,  and  not  until  (c)  the  third 
step  (ver.  17)  that  he  directly  addresses  him  as  a 
Jew.  The  next  step  (d)  answers  (iii.  Iff.)  the 
question  whether  the  Jew  has  had  or  has  any 
advantage  and  privilege  above  the  Gentile. 


Romans  ii.  i-ii  i6i 


(a)  The  judge  is  judged  (ii.  i-ii). 

1  Therefore  thou  art  excusable,  O  man,  whosoever  thou  art 
that  judgest :  for  wherein  thou  judgest  another,  thou 
condemnest  thyself ;  for  thou  that  judgest  doest  the  same 

2  things.  But  we  are  sure  that  the  judgment  of  God  is 
according  to  truth  against  them  which  commit  such  things. 

3  And  thinkest  thou  this,  O  man,  that  judgest  them  which 
do  such  things,  and  doest  the  same,  that  thou  shalt  escape 

4  the  judgment  of  God?  Or  despiseth  thou  the  riches  of 
his  goodness  and  forbearance  and  longsuffering ;  not 
knowing  that  the  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repent - 

5  ance  ?  But,  after  thy  hardness  and  impenitent  heart, 
treasurest  up  unto  thyself  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath 

6  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment   of  God  ;  who 

7  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds  :  to  them 
who  by  patient  continuance  in  well  doing  seek  for  glory 

8  and  honour  and  immortality,  eternal  life  :  but  unto  them 
that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey 

9  unrighteousness,  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and 
anguish,  upon  every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil ;  of  the 

10  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the  Gentile  ;  but  glory,  honour,  and 
peace,  to  every  man  that  worketh  good  ;  to  the  Jew  first, 

1 1  and  also  to  the  Gentile  :  for  there  is  no  respect  of  persons 
with  God. 

Turning  to  the  Jew  the  Apostle  addresses  him 
through  one  of  the  main  characteristics  by  which 
he  was  marked  as  he  moved  in  the  Gentile  world. 
Everywhere  he  showed  a  sense  of  superiority  which 
Gentiles  found  it  baffling  to  understand  and  hard 
to  bear.  He  despised  their  idolatry^  kept  aloof 
from  their  pleasures  and  amusements,  and  professed 
hatred  for  their  sins.  He  moved  about  as  a  judge 
(ver.  1).  And  yet,  Paul  maintains,  he  does  not 
II 


i62   Westminster  New  Testament 

escape  the  judgment  of  God.  For  in  spite  of  his 
attitude  he  does  the  same  thing  (ver.  2) — referring 
probably  to  the  concluding  list  of  sins  in  i.  28-32. 
Does  he  hope  to  escape  the  Divine  condemnation 
(ver.  3)  ?  Or  is  he  simply  despising  not  merely 
men,  but  even  God  and  His  goodness,  in  that  he 
fails  to  repent  (ver.  4)  ?  He  must  remember  that 
as  impenitent  he  is  moving  towards  the  day  of 
judgment  which  will  descend  on  all  men  (vers.  5,  6). 
At  that  day,  not  men's  privileges  but  their  very 
spirit,  their  moral  being  shall  be  dealt  with  accord- 
ing to  their  actual  and  habitual  life,  either  unto 
life  or  unto  death.  For  God  in  that  day  will  deal 
with  all  men  alike  on  the  same  principle,  whether 
Jew  or  Greek  (vers.  7-1 1). 

1.  thou  art  inexcusable.  R.V.,  "without 
sense."  This  refers  to  i.  20,  and  classes  the  Jew 
with  the  Gentile,  wherein  thou  judgest  an- 
other, thou  condemnest  thyself.  The  posses- 
sion of  the  power  to  judge  is  a  heavy  responsibility. 
It  implies  that  a  man  knows  right  and  wrong,  and 
is  passing  condemnation  on  himself,  if  he  "  practise 
the  same  things,"  R.V.  (cf  Matt.  vii.  I  ff ). 

2.  according  to  truth.  We  have  abundant 
reason  to  be  sure  that  God's  judgment  pierces  to 
the  reality  of  every  man's  life.  Professions, 
appearances,  privileges  are  stripped  away,  and 
against  the  sinner  that  Divine  sentence  stands. 

3.  And  thinkest  thou  .  .  .  that  thou 
(emphatic)  shalt  escape?  For  the  third  time 
the  hard  and  irrefutable  statement  is  made,  stroke 
after  stroke,  that  the  man  who  is  here  addressed 
practises  the  same  things  for  which  he  says  the 
Gentiles  are  condemned   (cf.  Phil.  iii.  1  ff.). 

4.  despisest  thou.    In  the  original  there  is  a 


Romans  ii.  i~ii  163 

slight  assonance  of  the  words  for  "condemn 
thyself"  (ver.  1)  and  "contemn"  or  despise  God, 
here.  The  wealth  of  the  Divine  goodness  or 
kindness  of  heart,  forbearance  or  withholding 
of  the  righteous  retribution  (cf.  iii.  25),  and 
longsuffering,  ought  to  be  known  to  ever}^  man 
who  sees  and  feels  how  long  and  how  much  he  has 
sinned.  He  ought  to  know  that  the  intended  and 
appropriate  effect  is  to  produce  in  him  a  thorough 

change  of  mind,  or  repentance. 

5.  Questioning  changes  to  accusation.  Though 
the  words  are  different,  the  idea  of  "riches"  in 
God  is  contrasted  with  the  actual  "  treasure " 
which  the  impenitent  man  is  heaping  up ;  it  is  not 
Divine  goodness,  but  wrath  !    day  of  wrath  and 

revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God. 
Observe  that  as  "  righteousness  of  God  "  is  revealed 
now  unto  salvation  yet  to  be  revealed  (i.  l6,  17), 
so  "wrath  of  God"  is  revealed  now  (i.  18)  unto 
a  judgment  yet  to  be  revealed  (ii.  5.)  But  every 
man  should  know  on  which  journey  he  is  moving, 
what  "  his  treasure,"  the  chief  interest  and  object 
of  his  life,  is. 

6.  Cf.  Ps.  ii.  12;  Matt.  xvi.  27.  The  fact  of 
justification  by  faith  does  not  annul  the  certainty 
of  that  final  judgment. 

7.  by  patient  continuance  in  well  doing. 
R.V.,  "by  patience  in  well-doing."  Or  we  might 
say,  "in  the  patience  of  a  good  life-work."  It  is 
the  sum  of  a  man's  long  endeavour,  the  permanent 
set  of  his  life,  incorruption.  This  word  lifts 
the  glory  and  honour  referred  to  from  the 
earthly  to  the  spiritual  sphere.  It  is  a  favourite 
word  with  Paul  (cf  Rom.  i.  23 ;  1  Cor.  ix,  25, 
XV.  42  ;  2  Tim.  i.  10,  etc.). 


i64   Westminster  New  Testament 

8.  contentious.  R.V.^  "  factious."  Perhaps 
there  is  a  side  reference  to  the  faction-mongering 
efforts  of  the  Judaizers  (Phil.  i.  17),  who  are  in 
Ep.  to  Gal.  (i.  6,  7,  ii.  4,  5,  14,  iv.  l6,  17,  v.  7) 
repeatedly  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel  which  they  obey  not  (cf. 
Jas.  iii.  14,  i6).  indignation  and  wrath. 
With  R.V.  reverse  the  order.  The  second  word 
means  the  outbreak  of  wrath. 

11.  Though  the  Jew  has  been  mentioned  first, 
this  is  no  breach  of  the  great  principle  that  God 
has  no  favourites.  For  the  Jew  is  mentioned  as 
first  in  relation  to  grace  (i.  l6)  as  well  as  to  wrath  ; 
that  is  because  his  responsibility  is  proportioned 
to  his  privilege. 

(6)  The  law  of  conscience  (ii.  12-16). 

12  For  as  many  as  have  sinned  without  law  shall  also  perish 
without  law  ;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law  shall 

13  be  judged  by  the  law ;  (for  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are 
just  before  God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified. 

14  For  when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by 
nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these,  having  not 

15  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves  :  which  shew  the  work 
of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  also 
bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing 

16  or  else  excusing  one  another  ; )  in  the  day  when  God  shall 
judge  the  secrets  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ  according  to  my 
gospel. 

Having  mentioned  both  Jew  and  Gentile  in 
relation  to  the  Divine  judgment,  the  Apostle  faces 
the  question,  How  can  the  Gentile  be  judged  since 
he  has  not  enjoyed  the  revelation  of  law  which  was 
granted  to  the  Jew?     (l)  He  asserts  that  if  any 


Romans  ii.  12-16  165 

are  without  law,  they  shall,  as  sinful,  perish  in  the 
same  state  (12«).  (2)  But  the  mere  possession  of 
the  law  is  no  safeguard,  unless  it  is  obeyed  (126, 
13).  (3)  Those  who,  as  the  Gentiles,  do  what 
"the  law"  of  revelation  commands,  reveal  the  fact 
that  the  law  is  implanted  in  their  human  nature 
(14,  15fl),  and  their  very  discussions,  explanations, 
and  excuses  show  that  they  have  this  in  their 
consciousness.  (4)  The  Gospel  makes  it  plain  that 
God  will  bring  these  hidden  facts  to  light  in  that 
day  (16). 

]  2.  The  Apostle  insists  that  "  sin "  wherever 
found  leads  to  condemnation  and  perishing.  Sin 
can  never  under  any  circumstances  meet  the 
approval  of  God  and  receive  eternal  life.  Hence, 
those  who  have  had  no  law  revealed,  shall  be  judged 
as  having  had  no  law,  while  those  who  have  had  law 
shall  be  judged  under  that  law.  Whether  any 
people  can  be  said  to  have  been  "without  law" 
in  any  sense,  the  Apostle  does  not  say.  He 
seems  to  believe  the  opposite  (cf.  i.  32,  ii.  14,  15, 
V.  13,  14). 

13.  Cf.  Jas.  i.  22-25,  also  Matt.  vii.  24-27. 
Luke   xiii.     25-27.    shall    be    justified.  R.V. 

margin,  "accounted  righteous."  This  is  called  the 
"forensic"  use  of  the  word;  God  as  judge  will 
pronounce  them  righteous. 

14.  The  people  who  have  not  received  a  revela- 
tion of  Divine  law  as  the  Jews  did,  but  whose  life 
shows  that  they  obey  that  very  law,  the  things 
contained  in  the  law  (R.V.,  "the  things  of  the 
law  "),  do  them  "by  nature,"  and  "are  a  law  unto 
themselves."  (Cf.  1  Cor.  xi,  14,  "Nature  herself 
teaches  us,  "  etc.)  It  is  significant  that  in  refeiTing 
to  "nature"  the  Apostle  agrees  with  such  writers 


i66    Westminster  New  Testament 

as  Cicero,  who  traced  the  laws  of  the  state  to 
"nature."  Man  has '^^  from  nature  "  right  reason, 
the  source  of  legislation ;  hence  "  to  live  from  or 
according  to  nature  is/'  he  says,  "  the  highest 
good." 

15.  The  phrases  of  ver.  14  are  explained  here. 
Their  work  or  course  of  conduct  shows  the  law 
"written  in  their  hearts."  their  conscience 
(cf.  ix.  1).  In  Paul's  use  of  this  word  (cf  1  Cor. 
X.  25;  2  Cor.  i.  1 2,  iv.  2,  v.  11;  1  Tim.  iv.  2)  we 
have  the  beginning  of  the  great  conception  of 
conscience  as  the  power  of  moral  discernment. 
His  references  are  still  partial  and  initiatory. 
They  do  not  express  a  philosophy  of  conscience, 
but  its  earliest  stages.  It  appears  (a)  bearing 
witness  with  them  (not  "  therewith  "  as  in  R.V.). 
For  he  like  the  ancients  regarded  conscience  as  the 
faculty  of  judging  one's  own  past  actions ;  (b) 
^'^  their  thoughts  {inargin,  reasonings)  one  with 
another  accusing  or  else  excusing  them "  (R.V.). 
For  their  social  intercourse  was  based  on  this 
process  of  scrutinizing  the  moral  value  of  each 
other's  actions. 

16.  This  verse  refers  back  to  ver.  13.  On  "the 
day"  see  above  on  i.  18.  shall  judge.  R.V. 
margin,  "judgeth."  The  event  though  future  is  so 
certain  that  it  must  guide  and  control  our  present 
life,  and  hence  the  present  tense  is  used,  the 
secrets  of  men.  Lit.,  "the  hidden  things."  The 
word  does  not  necessarily  imply  evil  things.  Its 
use  in  N.T.  gives  the  feeling  that  reality  is  some- 
how "  hidden."  Hypocrisy  or  unreality  is  cured 
by  "secret"  deeds  of  right  (Matt.  vi.  4,  6)  by 
remembering  that  a  final  revelation  is  sure  (Mark 
iv.   22  ;  Luke  xii.  2).     The  real  Jew  is  a  Jew  "  in 


Romans  ii.  17-29  167 

secret"  (Rom.  ii.  29)  (cf.  1  Pet.  iii.  4;  Col.  iii.  3). 
"  According  to  my  gospel,  by  Jesus  Christ  "  (R.V.). 
The  idea  was  held  in  some  Jewish  circles  that  the 
expected  Messiah  would  act  as  judge.  Our  Lord 
repeatedly  asserted  that  the  judgment  of  all  men 
would  take  place  through  Himself  (Matt.  vii.  22, 
23,  XXV.  31-46).  The  Apostle  Paul  insists  on  it  as 
part  of  his  message  (Acts  xvii.  31  ;  Rom.  xiv.  8- 
12;  2  Cor.  v.  10;  Eph.  vi.  5-9). 


(c)  The  actual  and  the  ideal  Jew  (ii.  17-29). 

17  Behold,  thou  art  called  a  Jew,  and  restest  in  the  law,  and 

18  makest  thy  boast  of  God,  and  knowest  his  will,  and 
approvest  the   things  that   are   more   excellent,  being  in- 

19  structed  out  of  the  law  ;  and  are  confident  that  thou  thyself 
art   a  guide    of  the   blind,  a  light  of  them  which  are  in 

20  darkness,  an  instructor  of  the  foolish,  a  teacher  of  babes, 
which  hast  the  form  of  knowledge  and  of  the  truth  in  the 

21  law.  Thou  therefore  which  teachest  another,  teachest  thou 
not  thyself?  thou  that  preachest  a  man  should  not  steal, 

22  dost  thou  steal  ?  thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not 
commit  adultery,  dost  thou  commit  adultery?     thou  that 

23  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  commit  sacrilege  ?  thou  that 
makest  thy  boast  of  the  law,  through   breaking   the   law 

24  dishonourest  thou  God?  For  the  name  of  God  is  blas- 
phemed among  the  Gentiles  through  you,  as  it  is  written. 

25  For  circumcision  verily  profiteth,  if  thou  keep  the  law  : 
but  if  thou  be  a  breaker  of  the  law,  thy  circumcision  is 

26  made  uncircumcision.  Therefore,  if  the  uncircumcision 
keep  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  shall  not  his  uncircum- 

27  cision  be  counted  for  circumcision?  And  shall  not  un- 
uncircumcision  which  is  by  nature,  if  it  fulfil  the  law,  judge 
thee,  who  by  the  letter  and  circumcision  dost  transgress  the 


i68   Westminster  New  Testament 

28  law  ?     For  he  is  not  a  Jew,  which  is  one  outwardly  ;  neither 

29  is  that  circumcision,  which  is  outward  in  the  flesh  :  but 
he  is  a  Jew,  which  is  one  inwardly  ;  and  circumcision  is 
that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter,  whose 
praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God. 

In  this  passage  Paul  comes  to  close  quarters 
with  the  Jew,  addressing  him  directly  and  indi- 
vidually (^^thou"  ver.  17).  There  are  two  main 
sections_,  the  first  of  which  (vers.  17-24)  contains 
four  steps.  (1)  To  begin  with,  he  enumerates  the 
real  privileges  of  the  Jew,  and,  as  it  were,  their 
ideal  use  (17,  18) ;  then  (2)  the  attitude  and  claims 
which  the  Jew  actually  draws  from  these  (19,  20). 
At  this  point  the  sentence  breaks  in  its  construc- 
tion (see  note  to  ver.  20),  and  the  Apostle  turns 
(3)  to  a  series  of  questions  which  imply  charges 
of  sin  (21,  22);  (4)  then  (see  note  on  ver.  23)  he 
turns  to  direct  assertion  of  their  notorious  guilt 
(23,  24).     The  second  section  (vers.  25-29)  argues 

(1)  that  transgression  of  the  law  annuls  the 
meaning  and  value  of  circumcision,  while  keeping 
of  the  law  by  the  uncircumcised  would  bring  upon 
him  all  that  meaning  and  value  (vers.  25-27)  ;  and 

(2)  that  the  true  relation  with  God  is  established 
from  within  and  through  the  spirit,  and  not  from 
the  outward  things  of  "the  flesh"  and  "the 
letter"  (28,  29). 

17.  Behold,  thou  art  called  a  Jew.  R.V. 
gives  the  correct  reading,  "But  if  thou  bearest 
the  name  of  a  Jew\"  The  change  of  reading  may 
have  been  due  either  to  accident  (itacism — the 
change  of  two  Greek  letters  into  one)  or  to  the 
effort  to  correct  the  broken  sentence  (see  on 
ver.  20).     "  the  name  "  or  "  the  surname."     Jew. 


Romans  ii.  17-29  169 

In  general  the  name  Jew  had  come  to  be  used  to 
distinguish  that  race  from  other  races ;  the  name 
Hebrew  was  often  used  to  distinguish  the  Pales- 
tinian from  the  Greek-speaking  Jews  of  the 
Dispersion  ;  while  Israelite  was  the  name  used  to 
express  their  religious  consciousness  as  the  people 
of  Jehovah.  But  Paul  uses  the  names  without 
close  attention  to  such  distinctions  (cf.  Gal.  i. 
13,  14,  vi.  16;  2  Cor.  xi.  22  ;  Phil.  iii.  5).  makest 
thy  boast  of  God.  R.V.,  ''  gloriest  in  God " 
(cf.  1  Cor.  i.  31  ;  Gal.  vi.  13,  14;  and  Jer.  ix. 
23,  24). 

18.  his  will.  R.V.  margin,  ^^  the  will."  The 
word  is  used  almost  as  equivalent  to  God,  the 
Supreme  Will.  In  1  Cor.  xvi.  12  read  with 
R.V.  margin,  "God's  will  that  he  should   come." 

approvest  the  things  that  are  excellent.  The 

R.V.  margin  gives  the  literal  meaning,  "  pro  vest 
the  things  that  differ"  (cf.  Phil.  i.  10),  but  that 
seems  a  poor  claim  for  the  Jew  to  make.  Out  of 
liis  power  of  seeing  the  right  and  the  wrong  must 
have  arisen  the  boast  that  he  knew  the  excellent 
things.  instructed  (cf.  Luke  iv.  1 8  ff.  ;  Acts 
XV.  21  ;  Gal.  vi.  6). 

19^  20.  The  Jew,  through  these  divinely  be- 
stowed privileges,  has  become  confident  of  a 
superior  relation  to  all  others.  Compared  with 
him  they  are  blind  and  in  darkness,  foolish  or 
mindless,  and  babes,  the  form  of  knowledge 
and  of  the  truth,  "possessing  the  truth  in  its 
precise  formula"  (Godet). 

At  this  point  the  construction  of  the  sentence 
(in  the  correct  R.V.)  breaks.  The  "if"  of  ver.  17 
ought  to  lead  to  the  conclusion — "  One  so 
privileged   and    so   superior   in  his  attitude,  how 


I70   Westminster  New  Testament 

completely  he  ought  to  embody  the  law  in  himself 

and  his  conduct ;  but " 

21.  The  real  condition  of  the  Jew  is  revealed  by 
four  accusing  question.  He  does  not  "^  teach 
himself/'  nor  keep  the  comandments.  He  has 
even  been  known  to  steal  treasure  from  heathen 
shrines. 

23.  This  verse  should  not  be  a  question  but 
a  conclusive  assertion.  By  his  transgression  of  the 
very  law  which  he  boasts  of,  he  brings  dishonour 
upon  God. 

24.  The  Apostle  quotes  freely  and  adapts 
Isa.  lii.  5  (LXX).  The  longer  passage  in  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  20-23  may  have  been  also  in  his  mind.  It 
was  a  complaint  of  the  Hebrew  exiles  that  their 
captivity  led  men  to  deride  their  God  for  His 
weakness  or  for  having  abandoned  them.  Paul 
maintains  that  the  sins  of  the  Jews  make  the 
Gentiles  blaspheme  the  God  whose  law  they 
boast  of. 

25.  profiteth.  It  is  not  said  how  it  profits. 
Perhaps  as  an  aid  to  faith,  a  symbol  of  consecration, 
an  occasion  of  valuable  historical  sentiment,  is 
made.  R.V.,  "is  become."  The  fact  of  circum- 
cision accumulates  all  that  shame  upon  itself 
which  the  Jew  habitually  casts  upon  uncircum- 
cision,  when  the  Jew  is  a  transgressor  of  the 
law. 

26.  the  uncircumcision  uncircumcised  per- 
sons, ordinances  (cf.  i.  32).  This  is  written  in 
the  spirit  of  vers.  14,  15,  1 6.  He  is  not  speaking 
of  Christian  Gentiles.  Even  Paul  seems  to  have 
had  his  "larger  hope.''  be  counted.  R.V.,  "be 
reckoned,"  i.e.  in  the  day  of  judgment  or  final 
reckoning. 


Romans  iii.  i-8  171 

27.  And  shall  not  uncircumcision.  R.V., "  The 
uiicircumcision,"  i.e.  the  Gentiles,  by  nature. 
There  is  some  difficulty  about  the  relation  of  these 
words.  It  seems  uncouth  to  speak  of  "  the  un- 
circumcision by  nature  "  ;  unless  we  feel  that  the 
author  was^  while  using  these  words^  vividly  think- 
ing of  "  Gentiles  by  birth."  Hence  some  would 
connect  the  words  with  the  next  clause — "if  it 
fulfil  the  law  by  or  from  nature/'  i.e.  instead  of 
from  the  law  (cf.  ver.  14).  who  by  the  letter  and 
circumcision  dost  transgress  the  law.  R.V., 
"  who  with  the  letter  and  circumcision  art  a  trans- 
gressor of  the  law."  Paul  means  that  the  Jew 
broke  the  law  while  in  possession  of  the  written 
word  which  recorded  it,  and  of  the  rite  which 
pledged  him  to  its  performance. 

28j  29.  We  need  not  discuss  the  exact  form 
of  translation  here.  The  exact  meaning  is  given 
under  several  good  ways  of  articulating  the  clauses 
of  the  Greek,  and  this  is  one  of  them.  The  O.T. 
prophets  emphasized  this  idea  (cf.  Deut.  x.  I6; 
Jer.  iv.  4).  whose  praise,  etc.  "  The  very  word 
^  Jew  ' — descendant  of  Judah — means  '  praise  ' 
(Gen.  xxix.  35).  And  such  a  Jew  has  his  praise, 
not  from  man  but  from  God "  (Sanday  and 
Headlam). 


(d)  The  advantage  of  the  Jew  and  the  justice  of  God 
iii.  (1-8). 

1  What  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew  ?  or  what  profit  is  there  of 

2  circumcision  ?    Much  every  way  :  chiefly,  because  that  unto 

3  them  were  committed  the  oracles   of  God.     For  what  if 
some  did  not  believe  ?  shall  their  unbelief  make  the  faith 


172    Westminster  New  Testament 

4  of  God  without  effect  ?  God  forbid  :  yea,  let  God  be  true, 
but  every  man  a  liar  ;  as  it  is  written,  That  thou  mightest 
be  justified  in  thy  sayijigs,  and  mightest   overcome  when 

5  thou  art  judged.  But  if  our  unrighteousness  commend  the 
righteousness  of  God,  what  shall  we  say?  Is  God  un- 
righteous who  taketh  vengeance?      (I  speak   as   a  man.) 

6  God  forbid:  for  then  how  shall   God  judge  the   world? 

7  For  if  the  truth  of  God  hath  more  abounded  through  my 
lie  unto  his  glory  :  why  yet  am  I  also  judged  as  a  sinner  ? 

8  And  not  rather,  (as  we  be  slanderously  reported,  and  as 
some  affirm  that  we  say,)  Let  us  do  evil,  that  good  may 
come?  whose  damnation  is  just. 

In  this  difficult  paragraph  there  are  four  distinct 
and  successive  elements,,  the  arguments  being 
developed  as  if  he  were  being  questioned  by  an 
opponent.  This  method  which  Paul  often  employs 
would  be  natural  to  one  who  had  entered  on  a 
career  of  controversy  through  a  great  controversy 
in  his  own  soul.  (1)  First  the  assertion,  in  answer 
to  a  natural  question  which  would  arise  from  the 
preceding  passage,  that  the  Jewish  race  has  had 
a  great  advantage  in  that  it  was  made  the  deposi- 
tory of  ^^the  oracles  of  God"  (vers.  \,  2).  (2)  Then 
the  rebuttal  of  the  idea  that  the  unbelief  of  the 
Jews  would  disprove  the  faithfulness  of  God 
(vers.  3,  4.).  (3)  The  refusal  of  one  conclusion  that 
may  be  drawn  from  (2),  namely,  that  God  would 
be  unrighteous  to  visit  wrath  on  those  whose  sin  had 
commended  the  righteousness  of  God  (vers.  5,  6). 
(4)  The  refusal  of  another  conclusion  that  if  evil- 
doing  thus  enhances  the  glory  of  God,  we  are  free 
to  sin  for  that  very  end. 

1.  Where  then  is  the  superiority  of  the  Jew.? 
For,  not  Jews  only,  but  those  Gentiles  who  were 
proselytes  and  admirers  of  the  Jewish   teachings, 


Romans  iii.  i-8  173 

considered  them  a  privileged  race.  R.V.,  "  What 
is  the  profit  of  circumcision  ?  "  referring  to  i.  25. 

2.  The  second  question  of  ver.  1  is  ignored,  and 
"  circumcision "  is  omitted  in  the  list  of  Jewish 
glories  in  ix.  4,  5.  chiefly.  R.V.,  "  first  of  all." 
because  that  .  .  .  oracles  of  God.   R.V., '^that 

they  were  intrusted  with  the  oracles  of  God."  Lit., 
"  the  sayings  of  God/'  the  word  probably  suggest- 
ing chiefly  the  promises  which  the  O.T.  Scriptures 
contain. 

3.  did  not  believe.  R.V.,  "  were  without  faith." 
the  faith  of  God.  R.V.,  "  the  faithfulness  of  God." 
The  Apostle  faces  the  difficulty  that  because  some 
Jews  have  rejected  the  Gospel  to  which  those 
promises  led  up,  God  likewise  might  "  break  faith  " 
with  men.  The  very  question  can  hardly  be  put, 
and  he  exclaims — 

4.  God  forbid.  R.V.  margin,  '^Be  it  not  so." 
Fourteen  times  Paul  uses  this  phrase,  as  if  it  were 
a  personal  expletive  of  the  repulsion  which  certain 
ideas  create  in  his  soul.  (1)  As  to  injustice  in  God 
as  judge,  Rom.  iii.  6.  (2)  As  to  unfaithfulness  in 
•  His  dealings  with  Israel,  Rom.  iii.  4,  ix.  14, 
xi.  1,  11.  (3)  As  to  the  law  defeating  grace. 
Gal.    iii.    21,   or   producing    sin,  Rom.    vii.    7,    13. 

(4)  As  to  the  doctrine  of  faith  leading  to  sin, 
Rom.  iii.  31,  vi.  2,  15  ;  Gal.  ii.  17  ;  cf.  1  Cor.  vi.  15. 

(5)  As  to  boasting  save  in  the  cross.  Gal.  vi.  14. 
every  man  a  liar  (Ps.  cxvi.  12).  mightest  over- 
come when  thou  art  judged.  R.V.,  "  mightest 
prevail  when  thou  comest  into  judgment."  Paul 
quotes  from  the  Greek  translation  of  Ps.  li.  4, 
which,  however,  differs  from  the  Hebrew.  He 
pictures  God  as  himself  judged  by  a  hostile  world, 
and  sees  that  world  forced  (1)  to  pronounce  that 


174   Westminster  New  Testament 

God  has  fulfilled  His  promises  (in  thy  sayingS. 
R.V.,  "words"  ;  cf.  ver.  2);  (2)  to  yield  before  the 
argument  which  proves  God  to  be  "true"  and 
man  false  (cf.  ver.  7). 

5.  commend.  R.V.,  "commendeth."  The 
word  means  rather  to  prove  or  sustain  a  fact  (cf. 
Gal.  ii.  18).  who taketh vengeance.  R.V.,  "who 
visiteth  with  wrath."  I  Speak  as  a  man.  R.V., 
"  After  the  manner  of  men"  (cf.  notes  on  Gal.  iii.  15). 
Even  before  he  repudiates  the  idea,  he  reminds 
himself  that  God  is  above  "  the  measure  of  man's 
mind." 

6.  for  then  how.  To  conceive  of  an  unrighteous 
God  is  impossible,  for  God's  righteous  judgment  of 
all  men  is  a  foundation  principle.  To  think  other- 
wise is  to  cease  to  think  of  God. 

7.  For  if.  R.V.,  "But  if"  Ancient  authorities 
differ  as  to  the  true  text  here.  The  balance  is  in 
favour  of  R.V.    hath  more  abounded  through 

my  lie.  R.V.,  "through  my  lie  abounded."  The 
argument  passes  from  criticism  of  God  to  inquiry 
about  man — "  If  I  have  served  his  glory,  am  I  a 
sinner  } 

8.  And  not  rather.  R.V.,  "And  why  not" 
Paul  conceives  of  some  one  asking  this  question, 
and  at  the  same  time  records  the  fact  that  he  had 
been  falsely  accused  of  teaching  this  very  principle. 
Let  US  do  evil,  etc.  (cf  Rom.  vi.  1-23 ;  Gal. 
v.  13).  whose  damnation  is  just.  R.V.,  "whose 
condemnation."  It  is  hard  to  think  that  Paul 
uttered  this  as  a  malediction  on  certain  persons 
because  they  misrepresented  him.  (Gal.  i.  8,  9,  does 
not  mean  that.  See  notes  there.)  He  means  that 
any  who  make  that  principle  the  rule  of  life  must 
be  condemned      And  that  is  undeniably  true. 


Romans  iii.  9-20  175 


Rom.  iii.  9-20. 

3.   THE  WHOLE  RACE  DECLARED  GUILTY 
BY  SCRIPTURE. 

9  What  then  ?  are  we  better  than  they  ?  No,  in  no  wise  : 
for  we  have  before  proved  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  that 

10  they  are   all  under  sin,  as    it  is   written.    There   is  none 

1 1  righteous,  no^  not  one :  there  is  none  that  understajideth, 

12  there  is  none  that  seekeih  after  God.  They  are  all  gone 
out  of  the  way,  they   are  together  become   unprofitable  ; 

13  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not  one.  Their  throat 
is  an  open  sepulchre  ;   with  their  tongue  they  have  used 

14  deceit ;    the  poison  of  asps   is   under   their  lips  :    whose 

15  mouth  is  full   of   cursing  and  bitterness  :    their  feet  are 

16  swift  to  shed  blood  :     destruction  and  misery  are  in  their 

1 7  ways :     and   the    way   of  peace   have  they    not   known  : 

18  there    is   no   fear   of  God   before   their   eyes.     Now    we 

19  know  that  what  things  soever  the  law  saith,  it  saith  to 
them  who  are  under  the  law  :  that  every  mouth  may  be 
stopped,  and  all  the  world  may  become  guilty  before  God. 

20  Therefore  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there  shall  no  flesh  be 
justified  in  his  sight :  for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge 
of  sin. 

The  Apostle  now  gathers  up  the  double 
argument  regarding  Jew  and  Gentile  (ver.  9)  to  a 
conclusion.  He  cites  various  passages  from  the 
O.T.  which  declare  mankind  to  be  in  a  state  of 
sin  and  living  without  God  (vers.  10-18).  This 
proves  that  the  legal  principle  or  the  method  of 
works  as  pursued  by  all  men  has  failed.  It  has 
only  served  to  make  the  universal  fact  of  sin 
universally  known  (vers.  19:,  20).  For  mankind 
some  other  way  out  of  darkness  must  be  found. 

9.  are  we  better  than  they  ?  R.V.  gives  the 
correct    translation^ — "  are  we  in  worse  case  than 


176   Westminster  New  Testament 

they  ?  "  The  Apostle  pictures  the  Jew  in  astonish- 
ment at  the  preceding  argument,  saying,  ^^  You 
said  we  had  a  great  advantage  (ver.  1),  but  you 
seem  to  be  harder  on  us  than  on  the  Gentiles. 
Do  they  surpass  us  ?  "  proved.  R.  V.,  '^  laid  to 
the  charge  of."  "  By  no  means/'  is  the  answer. 
Both  Jews  and  Greeks  have  already  come  under 
the  same  accusation,  that  they  are  all  under 

sin.  A  powerful  expression  for  the  dominion  in 
which  sin  holds  them  as  slaves  (Rom.  vii.  14) 
or  prisoners  (Gal.  iii.  22). 

Vers.  10-18.  These  verses  are  made  up  of  a 
number  of  citations  from  the  Psalms  and  the  Book 
of  Isaiah.  (See  the  Commentary  on  Romans,  by 
Sanday  and  Headlam,  pp.  77,  78,  and  Weizsacker, 
Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  Trans.,  vol.  i.  pp.  131  fF.) 

10-12.  These  verses  are  taken  from  Ps.  xiv.  2,  3, 
ver.  3  being  given  twice.  The  substance  of  ver.  3 
there  is,  however,  first  given  in  ver.  10  here  in  a 
modified  form,  as  a  kind  of  heading  or  text  for  the 
whole  passage,  using  the  more  definite  and  char- 
acteristic word  ^'^  righteous  "  for  '^^good." 

11.  Where  the  Psalm  says  "Jehovah  looked 
down  from  heaven  ...  to  see  if  there  were  any 
that  did  understand,"  the  Apostle  simply  gives  the 
evident  conclusion  of  that  search — There  is  none 
who  shows  any  moral  sense  or  any  desire  for  God. 

12.  They  are  all    gone  out  of  the  way. 

R.V.,  "They  have  all  turned  aside."  become 
unprofitable.  The  Hebrew  word  is  used  for 
milk  turning  sour.     They  have  lost  all  value. 

13%^.     The  first  two  clauses  are  from  Ps.  v.  9. 

13'=  The  third  clause  (Ps.  cxl.  3  ;  cf.  Ps.  Iviii.  4) 
emphasizes  vividly  the  idea  of  treachery, 

14.  Cf.  Ps.  X.  7. 


Romans  iii.  9-20  177 

15-17.  These  verses  abridge  Isa.  lix.  7,  8  from 
the  LXX  or  Greek  translation  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures.  They  are  murderers  who  leave  desola- 
tion behind  them.  Everywhere  violence  and  not 
peace  is  the  thing  their  souls  love. 

18.  Ps.  xxxvi.  1. 

19.  20.  The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter. 
what  things  soever  the  law  saith,  it  saith. 
R.V.,  "  what  things  soever  the  law  saith^  it 
speaketh "  (cf.  John  viii.  43).  under  the  law. 
As  the  above  passages  are  not  taken  from  the  law 
of  Moses,  this  word  must  apply  to  the  O.T.  in 
general  as  the  announcement  of  the  will  and 
judgment  of  Jehovah  (cf.  John  x.  34<,  quoting 
Ps.  Ixxxii,  6,  and  xv.  25,  quoting  Ps.  xxxv.  19, 
Ixix.  4).  The  Jews  then  are  condemned  by  their 
own  Scriptures  for  failure  to  keep  the  law  addressed 
expHcitly  to  them,  that  every  mouth  may  be 
stopped  (cf.  i.  20,  ii.  1).  and  all  the  world 
may  become  guilty  before  God.  R.V.,  "may 
be  brought  under  the  judgment  of  God."  The 
Apostle  speaks  as  if  the  very  people  who  might 
be  found  trying  to  ignore  the  situation  are  the 
Jews.  The  Gentiles  are  admittedly  in  sin.  The 
Jews  are  now,  in  spite  of  appearances  and  protesta- 
tions, proved  to  be  like  all  others,  answerable  in 
the  day  of  judgment  to  Him  against  whom  they 
have  offended. 

20.  Therefore.  R. V.,  "  Because  "  is  the  correct 
translation.  The  Apostle  here  states,  and  rests  on, 
the  universal  principle  (clearly  stated  in  Gal.  ii. 
15,  16,  iii.  21)  that  the  effort  to  be  righteous  by 
fulfilment  of  the  law  is  foredoomed  to  failure. 
"No  flesh,"  i.e.  no  human  being,  is  adequate  to 
the    task   (viii.   3).     "  In  his  sight,"  in  his   dread 

12 


178   Westminster  New  Testament 

and  holy  presence  none  can  ever  be  pronounced 
righteous  on  that  ground,  for  by  the  law  (R.V., 
"  through  the  law/'  margin,  "through  law")  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin  (cf.  vii.  7).  The  word  means 
a  thorough  and  personal  knowledge,  a  real  con- 
sciousness of  sin. 


PART  II.  THE  METHOD  OF  SALVATION. 
(Rom.  iii.  21-viii.  39.) 

It  has  been  pointed  out  already  (Introduction) 
that  the  Apostle  in  this  epistle  has  for  his  main 
thesis  the  fundamental  Christian  fact  of  justijfica- 
tion  by  faith.  This  is  not  in  his  eyes  an  abstract 
doctrine  reached  by  speculation  upon  the  ideal  or 
possible  relations  of  God  and  man.  It  is  the  state- 
ment in  briefest  and  simplest  words  of  a  new  rela- 
tion which  has  arisen  in  the  midst  of  history,  in 
the  very  experience  of  men,  a  new  relation  with 
God.  Christ  has  wrought  this  immeasurable 
change,  and  faith  is  the  human  attitude  through 
which  it  is  realized  in  man  after  man,  creating 
a  new  people,  a  new  social  group  or  organism, 
which  is  called  the  Church.  It  is  this  experience 
which  now  the  Apostle  proceeds  to  analyse  in  the 
following  chapters  (iii.  21-viii.  39).  For  an  outline 
of  this  analysis  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
worked  out,  reference  must  be  made  to  the  In- 
troduction. It  is  our  task  now  to  follow  it  out 
step  by  step. 


Romans  iii.  21-26  179 


Rom.  iii.  21-26. 

FUNDAMENTAL  STATEMENT:  THE  SU- 
PREME ACT  OF  JUSTIFICATION,  OR, 
HOW  MEN  ARE  PUT  IN  RIGHTEOUS 
RELATIONS  WITH  GOD. 

21  But  now  the  righteousness  of  God  without  the  law  is  mani- 

22  fested,  being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets  ;  even 
the  righteousness  of  God  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ 
unto  all  and  upon  all  them  that  believe ;  for  there  is  no 

23  difference :  for  all   have   sinned,  and   come   short   of  the 

24  glory  of  God ;  being  justified  freely  by  his  grace  through 

25  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  :  whom  God  hath 
set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood, 
to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins  that 

26  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God ;  to  declare,  I 
say,  at  this  time  his  righteousness  :  that  he  might  be  just, 
and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus. 

This^  like  i.  2-6,  is  a  brief  passage  in  which  every 
phrase  is  packed  with  meaning.  (1)  In  the  very 
midst  of  the  world  that  has  been  proved  sinful  and 
unable  to  save  itself,  for  "all  have  sinned/'  Salva- 
tion has  appeared.  The  effective  righteousness  of 
God  is  now  available  for  every  man  who  has  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  (21-23).  (2)  This  means  that  every 
man  who  believes  is  justified_,  is  now  accounted 
in  right  relations  with  God,  through  a  redemptive 
act  which  He  performed  in  Christ  Jesus  (24), 
(3)  That  act  consisted  in  this,  that  God  used  Him 
in  His  sacrificial  death  to  demonstrate  His  own 
righteousness  in  spite  of  His  long  forbearance  with 
a  sinful  race  (25).  (4)  By  the  same  act  God 
demonstrated  His  righteousness,  even  when  He 
accounts  as  righteous  those  who  being  confessedly 
sinful  fix  their  trust  on  Jesus  (26). 


i8o  Westminster  New  Testament 

21.  But  now  ...  is  manifested.  R.V.,  "  hath 
been  manifested."  The  Apostle  uses  this  phrase 
(^^but  now")  to  mark  the  transition  from  the  pre- 
Christian  to  the  Christian  relations  between  God 
and  man  in  Rom.  xvi.  25,  26;  Eph.  ii.  12^  13; 
Col.  i.  26,  27  ;  2  Tim.  i.  9, 10.  without  the  law. 
R.V.,  "apart  from  the  law."  Lit.,  "apart  from 
law."  This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  apart  from 
all  regard  to  moral  law  as  an  expression  of  the 
holy  will  of  God.  But  apart  from  "  law  "  as  an 
institution  through  which  man  has  tried  and  failed 
to  attain  righteousness  (cf  Phil.  iii.  6,  1,  where 
Paul  says  his  own  success  before  men  was  failure 

before  God),  the  righteousness  of  God  (see 
note  on  i.  i6).  the  law  and  the  prophets, — i.e. 
the  O.T.  as  a  whole.  In  the  purpose  of  God  the 
new  and  the  old  are  connected,  as  a  continuous 
revelation  of  His  will. 

22.  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ.  R.V., 

"  through  faith  in  (jnargiyi,  of)  Jesus  Christ."  It 
is  tempting  to  interpret  this  as  the  faith  which 
Christ  had  in  God  and  through  which  He  conquered 
(cf  Heb.  xii.  2).  But  there  is  no  case  where 
this  use  of  the  phrase  by  Paul  is  quite  certain,  and 
hence  we  must  take  it  as  "faith  in  Jesus  Christ." 
and  upon  all.  R.V.  puts  the  words  in  margin, 
probably  inserted  later  by  copyists,  difference. 
R.V.,  "  distinction." 

23.  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  R.V., 
"  fall  short."  Lit.  to  lack  or  to  be  in  want  of 
food  (Luke  xv.  14),  wine  (John  ii.  3),  grace  of  God 
(Heb.  xii.  15).  It  is  uncertain  here  whether  men 
are  said  to  fall  short  of  the  ideal  character  of  God 
(cf.  2  Cor.  xi.  5,  xii.  11)  or  to  be  without  His  glory, 
in  the  sense  of  His  approval  (John  v.  44,  xii.  43). 


Romans  iii.  21-26  181 

24.  being  justified.  The  whole  usage  of  this 
word  by  Paul  shows  that  it  means  not  "being 
made  righteous  in  character/'  but  "  being  accounted 
as  righteous "  or  "  reckoned  as  standing  in  right 
relations."  The  subsequent  argument  in  chaps, 
v.-viii.  shows  how  men  who  start  with  being 
accounted  as  righteous  become  personally  righteous. 
The  word  must  be  here  grammatically  connected 
with  "all"  in  ver.  22,  through  "all"  in  ver.  23. 
freely, — i.e.  for  nothing,  without  purchase  by  man's 
labour.  In  Gal.  ii.  21  the  same  words  mean  that, 
for  the  man  who  does  not  believe,  Christ  died  "  for 
nothing,"  i.e.  with  no  result,  by  his  grace.  It 
is  God's  love,  unmerited  and  unbought,  that  has 
prompted  the  whole  series  of  Divine  acts  here 
described  (v.  8).  For  the  Apostle,  "  grace  "  is  the 
source  of  all  good,  and  it  is  love  towards  the  un- 
worthy, the  morally  unlovely.  the  redemption 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  nature  of  the 
redemption  is  described  in  ver.  25.  The  word  in 
another  form  is  applied  to  the  liberation  from 
Egypt  (Ex.  vi.  6,  etc.;  cf  1  Cor.  i.  30  ;  Eph.  i.  7,  14  ; 
Col.  i.  14).  Here  it  means  the  process  of  redeeming 
which  was  wrought  in  and  through  the  personal 
history  of  Christ  Jesus,  in  the  great  act  of  His 
death  (cf.  2  Cor.  v.  19). 

25.  whom  God  set  forth.  The  Apostle 
several  times  connects  the  will  of  God  directly 
with  the  death  of  Christ  (cf.  Rom.  v.  8,  viii.  3,  32  ; 
2  Cor.  V.  21).  The  great  deed  was  His  and  revealed 
His  truly  infinite  love  for  us,  sinners.  The  word 
"  set  forth "  may  refer  generally  to  the  act  of 
offering  Christ  to  the  world  in  His  death,  or  vividly 
to  His  being  on  the  cross,  hanging  there,  as  it  were, 

in  the  view  of  the  world,    to  be  a  propitiation. 


i82    Westminster  New  Testament 

R.V.  margin,  "  to  be  propitiatory "  (see  any  good 
Bible  Dictionary  on  "  Propitiation/'  and  cf.  Heb. 
ii.  17;  1  John  ii.  ^,  iv.  10).  The  word  does  not 
mean  to  persuade  God  to  love  men  or  to  show 
mercy,  any  more  than  it  means  to  propitiate  man. 
It  does  mean  that,  for  some  reason  not  explained 
fully  by  the  Apostle,  the  death  of  Christ  (in  his 
blood.  R.V.  '^ by  his  blood")  was  necessary  as 
a  condition  of  justification,  through  faith,  or, 
through  the  faith,  which  was  referred  to  in  ver.  22 
without  the  article,  as  the  necessary  human  act 
through  which  the  Divine  righteousness  takes 
effect  on  man's  condition.  There  should  be  a 
comma  after  '^^  faith,"  as  in  R.V.,  the  phrase  being 
parenthetical,  and  "in  his  blood  "  being  connected 

with  "propitiation."  for  the  remission  of  sins 
that  are  past.  R.V.,  "  because  of  the  passing  over 
of  the  sins  done  aforetime."  Paul  does  not  say  the 
sins  of  the  past  were  remitted  or  forgiven,  but,  as 
it  were,  ignored  or  tolerated.  God  showed  "  for- 
bearance," bore  them  as  a  burden,  and  in  the 
death  of  Christ  the  righteousness  of  that  "for- 
bearance "  is  showed  or  demonstrated. 

26.  at  this  time.  R.  V.,  "  at  this  present  season," 
i.e.  in  the  new  dispensation  which  dates  from  the 
sacrificial  death  of  Christ  Jesus,  that  he  might 
be  just,  and  the  justifier.  R.V.  margin  refers  to 
ii.  13  margin,  where  "just  "  is  given  as  "  righteous  " 
and  "justified"  as  "accounted  righteous."  We 
might  translate  "  that  he  might  be  righteous  and 
the  righter  of  him  that  hath  faith  in  Jesus."  We 
speak  of  "  righting  "  a  man  when  he  is  restored  to 
right  relations,  and  that  is  the  meaning  of 
"justify."  How  the  death  of  Christ  both 
establishes  or   demonstrates  the   righteousness   of 


Romans  iii.  27-31  183 

God  and  becomes  the  ground  or  means  for  "  right- 
ing" men  who  believe  is  not  fully  explained. 
But  we  know  from  other  passages  (l)  that  Paul 
views  death  as  the  consequence  or  penalty  of  sin 
(v.  12,  vi.  23)  ;  (2)  the  death  of  Christ  as  a  sacrifice 
made  by  Him  (Gal.  ii.  20  ;  Rom.  v.  5  ;  Tit.  ii.  14) 
and  a  sacrifice  made  by  God  in  Him  (viii.  3,  32)  ; 
(3)  that  the  sinless  One  thus  entered  into  an 
experience  of  the  power  and  effect  of  sin,  and 
displayed  God's  righteousness  in  the  condemnation 
of  sin  (Rom.  viii.  3;  2  Cor.  v.  21  ;  Gal.  ii.  10  ff.). 
The  principal  writings  of  the  N.T.  agree  in  this 
(Heb.  viii.-x. ;  John  i.  29,  36;  1  John  iv.  10; 
1  Pet.  i.  19 ;  Rev.  i.  5  ;  cf.  our  Lord's  own  words. 
Matt.  XX.  28,  xxvi.  28).  No  doctrine  of  the  Atone- 
ment can  be  true  to  the  Christian  consciousness 
at  its  origin  and  in  the  deepest  phases  of  its 
subsequent  history,  which  explains  away  or  ignores 
this  element,  mysterious  as  it  is.  God's  personal 
righteousness  is  involved  in  the  sublime  act  of 
offering  a  universal  pardon  and  confirming  it  to 
every  one  that  opens  his  heart  to  it  ;  and  that 
righteousness,  no  less  than  the  eternal  love  which 
lives  and  works  in  and  through  it,  has  been 
demonstrated  historically,  and  so  made  effective, 
in  the  sacrifice  of  His  Son  on  the  cross.  The 
awakened  conscience,  the  heart  aroused  and  re- 
sponsive, sees  it,  while  the  heavier  processes  of 
logic  fail  to  explain  it. 

Rom.  iii.  27-31. 
TRANSITION   PARAGRAPH. 

27  Where  is  boasting  then  ?     It  is  excluded.     By  what  law  ? 

28  of  work3  ?     Nay  ;  but  by  the  law  of  faith.     Therefore  we 


i84    Westminster  New  Testament 

conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith  without  the  deeds 

29  of  the  law.     Is  he  the  God  of  the  Jews  only  ?  is  he  not  also 

30  of  the  Gentiles  ?     Yes,   of  the  Gentiles   also  :  seeing  it  is 
one  God,  which  shall  justify  the  circumcision  by  faith,  and 

31  uncircumcision  through  faith.     Do  we  then  make  void  the 
law  through  faith  ?    God  forbid  :   yea,  we  establish  the  law. 

It  is  often  said  that  these  verses  form  the  con- 
elusion  of  the  whole  preceding  argument.  They 
are  much  better  viewed  as  marking  the  transition 
to  the  remainder  of  the  epistle.  In  them  Paul 
does  Indeed  resume  the  fundamental  ideas  with 
which  he  has  been  working,  but  for  a  further  end. 
The  series  of  abrupt  questions  actually  point 
forward  to  the  whole  course  of  discussion.  First 
he  names  the  new  principle  the  "  law  of  faith  " 
(ver.  27),  which  he  discusses  in  chap.  iv. ;  then  the 
justification  '^'^  apart  from  works  of  law,"  the  further 
issues  of  which  in  actual  communion  with  God,  he 
sets  forth  in  chaps,  v.-viii. ;  then  the  racial  question 
(29,  30) — He  is  God  of  both  Jews  and  Gentiles — 
which  is  the  subject  of  chaps,  ix.-xi. ;  and  lastly 
the  establishing  of  law  (ver.  31),  which  is  analysed 
thoroughly  in  the  course  of  the  argument  of  the 
middle  chapters  (v.-viii.)  from  various  points 
of  view,  but  which  is  applied  directly  and 
triumphantly  to  the  actual  conduct  of  believers  in 
their  social  relations  (in  chap.  xii.  1-xv.  13) — a 
section  which  significantly  opens  (xii.  1,  2)  with 
language  taken  from  "the  law"  and  used  of  the 
Christian  believer. 

27.  Where  is  boasting  then  ?  R.V.,  "  glory- 
ing" (cf.  ii.  23;  Gal.  vi.  13,  14).  All  self-confi- 
dence, all  pride  of  achievement  in  fulfilment  of  law 
is  once  for  all  shut  out  of  the  human  soul.     And 


Romans  iii.  27-31  185 

this  is  done  by  the  uprising  in  human  life  of  a  new 
principle  or  system,  namely,  the  law  (R.V.,  "  a 
law  ")  of  faith.  The  Apostle  does  not  shrink  from 
this  use  of  the  word  "  law/'  unafraid  of  now  being 
misunderstood.  Faith,  the  humble  and  grateful 
receiving  of  God's  mercy,  is  now  the  fundamental 
law  of  our  true  relationship  with  God,  By  what 
law  ?    R.V.,  ''  By  what  manner  of  law  ?  " 

28.  Therefore  we  conclude.  R.V.,  "We 
reckon  therefore,"  margin,  "for  we  reckon."  We 
should  understand  it  to  mean — All  sense  of  merit 
is  shut  out,  for  we  know  as  the  result  of  our  reason- 
ing that  one  can  now  be  set  right  with  God  apart 
from  the  ancient  system  of  law. 

29,  30.  seeing  it  is  one  God  which  shall 

justify.  R.V.,  "  if  so  be  that  God  is  one  ;  and  he 
shall  justify."  The  appeal  is  to  the  great  fact  that 
all  races  are  from  one  and  the  same  God  (cf.  Acts 
xvii.  24-31).  He  will  certainly  deal  with  all  men 
on  one  and  the  same  principle  of  justification  by 
faith,  by  faith  .  .  .  through  faith.  R.V.,"out 
of  faith  .  .  .  through-  the  faith."  The  change  of 
prepositions  is  not  significant.  But  "  the  faith  "  is 
emphatic  and  means  that  the  same  act  is  sufficient 
for  Gentiles  as  for  Jews.  No  other  is  demanded 
of  either. 

Rom.  iv. 

I.  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  JUSTIFICATION 
BY  FAITH. 

The  Apostle  begins  with  a  question  which 
seems  remote  from  what  he  has  been  saying. 
That  is  sometimes  his  way.  But  as  the  argument 
proceeds  and  he,  penetrates  deeper  into  the  terms 
of  the  question^  we  are  gradually  led  to  the  con- 


i86    Westminster  New  Testament 

elusion  that  faith  in  God,  as  the  God  of  actual 
history,  is  and  has  always  been  the  fundamental 
principle  of  right  relationship  with  God,  and  that 
it  reaches  its  climax  of  power  when  it  is  fixed  on 
Him  who  in  history  has  redeemed  us  by  the  deeds 
of  the  cross  and  the  resurrection.  The  chapter 
has  four  main  sections  and  a  conclusion  which 
deal  successively  with  (1)  faith  as  opposed  to 
works  (2-8) ;  (2)  faith  and  the  institution  of  cir- 
cumcision (9-12)  ;  (3)  faith  and  the  institution  of 
the  law  (13-17)  ;  (4)  the  practical  powers  of  faith  ; 
Conclusian — ^The  Divine  purpose  binds  together  the 
faith  of  Abraham  and  that  of  the  Christian  man, 
and  establishes  justification  by  faith  as  the  method 
of  God  (24,  25).  The  experience  of  Abraham  and 
the  remarkable  utterance  of  Gen.  xv.  6  were  often 
discussed  among  the  Jews  (see  Lightfoot  on 
Galatians,  pp.  158-164).  Paul  found  it  a  valuable 
means  for  expounding  and  defending  his  gospel,  as 
in  Gal.  iii.  6  ff.  For  the  sense  of  religious  relation- 
ship with,  as  well  as  natural  descent  from,  Abraham 
lay  deep  in  the  Jewish  consciousness  (cf.  Matt.  iii. 
9;  John  viii.  31-59). 

(i)  Faith  and  works  (iv.  i-8). 

1  What  shall  we  say  then  that  Abraham  our  father,  as  per- 

2  taining  to  the  flesh,  hath  found?     For  if  Abraham  were 
justified  by  works,  he  hath   whereof  to    glory ;  but   not 

3  before  God.     For  what  saith   the   Scripture  ?      Abraham 
believed  God,  and  it  was  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness. 

4  Now  to  him  that  worketh  is  the  reward  not  reckoned  of 

5  grace,  but  of  debt.     But  to   him   that  worketh   not,  but 
believeth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is 

6  counted  for  righteousness.     Even  as  David  also  describeth 
the   blessedness  of  the   man,  unto   whom   God   imputeth 


Romans  iv.  i-8  187 

7  righteousness  without  works,  saying,  Blessed  are  they  whose 

8  iniqtdties  are  forgiven,  and  whose  sins  are  covered.     Blessed 
is  the  man  to  ivhoni  the  Lord  will  not  impute  sin. 

1.  Scholars  are  perplexed  about  the  true  text  of 
this  verse.  Some  manuscripts  read,  as  A.V.,  our 
father;  others,  as  R.V.,  "our  forefathers."  Some, 
as  R.V.  margin  indicates,  omit  the  words  "  hath 
found"  and  read  "what  then  shall  we  say  of 
Abraham  our  forefather  according  to  the  flesh  ?  " 
The  Apostle's  question  is  not  based  on  any  one 
phrase  or  point  in  the  preceding  argument.  Paul 
knew  that  Abraham's  faith  and  the  Jewish  descent 
from  Abraham  were  vital  topics,  and  introduces 
them  here  as  a  means  for  elucidating  "justification 
by  faith  "  as  God's  method  with  all  men,  Jew  and 
Gentile  alike. 

2,3.  but  not  before  God.  R.V.,  "but  not 

towards  God."  If  Abraham  had  found  a  way  of 
"  glorying  "  it  could  only  have  sprung  from  "  works  " 
— that  is,  from  a  righteousness  of  his  own  making. 
But  in  relation  to  God  we  know  that  this  is  im- 
possible. Besides,  the  Scripture  says  that  his 
righteousness  came  otherwise ;  for,  Abraham 
believed  God  (cf  Gen.  xv.  6).  It  is  worth 
noting  that  in  all  his  epistles  Paul  speaks  seventeen 
times  of  Christ  as  the  object  of  trust,  only  twice 
in  Romans.  Eight  times  it  is  God  to  whom  faith 
is  directed,  namely.  Gal.  iii.  6;  Rom.  iv.  3,  17  (all 
quoting  Genesis) ;  Rom.  iv.  5,  24 ;  1  Thess.  i.  8  ; 
2  Tim.  i.  12;  Tit.  iii.  8;  Col.  ii.  12;  cf.  also 
Rom.  X.  9-  It  is  curious  that  no  object  of  faith 
is  mentioned  in  Epistle  to  Corinthians,  except 
armour  (1  Cor.  xi.  18).  Here  the  fact  that 
"^  Abraham  believed  God,"  and  that  this  fact  was 


i88    Westminster  New  Testament 

reckoned  unto  him  for  righteousness^  is  cited 
as  proving  that  "  boasting "  was  impossible  to 
him.  "  Works  "  means  boasting  ;  "  faith  "  means 
humility. 

4f,  5.  Another  antithesis  is  put  in  these  verses. 
The  man  who  is  righteous  by  "  works  "  makes  God 
his  debtor  ;  his  reward  is  not  a  gift  but  a  right. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  him  who  gives  up  "  work- 
ing" for  righteousness  and  abandons  himself  in 
faith  to  God,  that  very  faith,  in  which  all  personal 
merit  is  disowned,  is  itself  reckoned  unto  righteous- 
ness. '^Works''  implies  wages  and  seeks  to  make 
God  a  debtor;  ^^ faith"  sees  in  Him  a  gracious 
giver,  justifieth  the  ungodly.  Does  not  refer 
particularly  to  Abraham  (cf.  v.  6).  It  is  a  general 
principle  that  is  here  stated.  Is  means  that  in 
the  act  described,  the  individual  confesses  that  he 
has  been  without  God  and  is  unworthy  of  the  very 
thing  which  he  accepts,  namely,  the  reckoning  as 
righteous. 

6,  7,  8.  Even  as  David  also  described  the 
blessedness  of  the  man.  R.V.,  "pronounceth 
blessing  upon  the  man "  (Ps.  xxxii.  1  f.).  For 
"impute"  here  and  in  ver.  8  the  R.V.  uses 
"  reckon."  It  is  right  to  point  out  that ''  blessing  " 
or  "  felicitation  "  is  a  truer  meaning  than  "  blessed- 
ness "  ;  but  the  actual  quotation  is  made  in  order 
to  affirm  that  the  supreme  form  of  human  bliss 
belongs  to  those  who  have  received  pardon,  which 
implies  for  Paul  the  reckoning  of  righteousness 
instead  of  sin. 


Romans  iv.  9-12  189 


(2)  Faith  and  circumcision  (iv.  9-12). 

9  Cometh  this  blessedness  then  upon  the  circumcision  only, 
or  upon    the  uncircumcision   also  ?  for   we  say  that  faith 

10  was  reckoned  to  Abraham  for  righteousness.  How  was 
it  then  reckoned  ?  when  he  was  in  circumcision,  or  in  un- 
circumcision ?     Not  in  circumcision,  but  in  uncircumcision. 

11  And  he  received  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the 
righteousness  of  the  faith  which  he  had  yet  being  uncircum- 
cised  :  that  he  might  be  the  father  of  all  them  that  believe, 
though  they  be  not  circumcised  ;  that  righteousness  might 

12  be  imputed  unto  them  also  :  and  the  father  of  circumcision 
to  them  who  are  not  of  the  circumcision  only,  but  who  also 
walk  in  the  steps  of  that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham, 
which  he  had  being  yet  uncircumcised. 

To  get  the  full  meaning  of  this  passage  we  must 
remember  that  the  Jews  had  come  to  attach  a 
supreme  and  even  saving  power  to  the  rite  of  cir- 
cumcision. Only  the  circumcised  were  children 
of  Abraham.  Whoever  is  uncircumcised  ''  belongs 
not  to  the  children  of  the  covenant  which  the 
Lord  made  with  Abraham,  for  he  belongs  to  the 
children  of  destruction  "  {Book  of  Jubilees,  quoted 
by  Sanday  and  Headlam,  on  Romans,  pp.  108,  109). 
This  passage  then,  and  others  like  it  in  Paul's 
writings,  were  revolutionary.  They  struck  at  the 
root  of  Jewish  religion,  as  one  of  the  deepest  con- 
victions of  his  own  race.  There  are  two  steps  in 
the  argument:  (1)  When  did  the  justification 
come  to  Abraham  ?  Ans.  While  he  was  still  an 
uncircumcised  man  (vers.  9^,  10);  (2)  What  was 
the  purpose  of  this  rite?  Ans.  Not  to  supplant 
the  "law   of  faith,"  but  to  put  the  Divine  seal 


igo    Westminster  New  Testament 

upon  it,  that  he  might  be  the  father  of  all 
believers,  whether  they  bear  that  sign  or  not 
(vers.  10,  11). 

9.  Cometh  this  blessedness  then  upon  the 
circumcision  only.  R.V.,  ^^Is  this  blessing 
then  pronounced  upon  the  circumcision."  It  is  a 
bold  question ;  for  the  quotation  (v.  1,  8),  which 
felicitates  the  forgiven,  occurs  in  the  midst  of  O.T. 
history,  at  a  time  when  all  were  circumcised  to 
whom  it  could  have  been  addressed.  The  question 
must  seem  foolish  to  a  Jewish  reader,  and  Paul  there- 
fore promptly  reminds  us  that  it  was  ''  to  Abraham 
his  faith  was  reckoned  for  righteousness." 

10.  Now  comes  the  telling  blow.  Abraham  was 
reckoned  to  be  righteous  while  he  was  still  an  un- 
circumcised  man  !  (cf.  Gen.  xv.  6  and  xvii.  9ff-)- 
The  "  law  of  faith  "  preceded  the  law  of  circum- 
cision. 

11.  12.  Why  then  was  he  circumcised.^  Two 
answers  are  given :  {a)  The  sign,  circumcision, 
was  a  "  seal "  ;  it  was  an  authoritative  confirmation 
of  the  fact  that  through  faith  he  already  stood 
right  with  God.  Note  the  use  of  "  sign  and  seal  " 
in  description  of  the  Christian  sacraments,  {h)  But 
the  Divine  purpose  (that  he  might  be)  reached 
beyond  himself.  He  was  destined  to  be  the 
father  of  all  them  that  believe,  even  though 
they  be  uncircumcised,  and  also  the  father,  himself 
circumcised,  of  all  those  who  not  only  are  of 
the  circumcision,  but  possess  faith  just  as  he 
had  it  before  he  was  circumcised.  No  argument 
could  more  powerfully  convince  his  readers  that 
circumcision  does  not  count  for  anything  in  the 
life  of  faith  (cf.  Gal.  vi.  15),  and  hence  it  counts 
for  nothing  in  respect  of  righteousness  before  God. 


Romans  iv.  13-17  191 

walk  in  the  steps.  A  striking  picture  of  a  long 
line  of  descendants^  like  soldiers  marching  in  file, 
in  the  path  opened  by  this  great  leader  of  their 
race. 


(3)  Faith  and  ♦*  the  law  "  (iv.  13-17). 

13  For  the  promise,  that  he  should  be  the  heir  of  the  world, 
was  not  to  Abraham,  or   to   his  seed,  through   the   law, 

14  but  through  the  righteousness  of  faith.  For  if  they  which 
are  of  the  law  be  heirs,  faith  is  made  void,  and  the  promise 

15  made  of  none  effect :  because  the  law  worketh  wrath  :  for 

16  where  no  law  is,  there  is  no  transgression.  Therefore  it  is 
of  faith,  that  it  might  be  by  grace  ;  to  the  end  the  promise 
might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed  ;  not  to  that  only  which  is  of  the 
law,  but  to  that  also  which  is  of  the  faith  of  Abraham  ; 

17  who  is  the  father  of  us  all,  (as  it  is  written,  I  have 
made  thee  a  father  of  many  nations,)  before  him  whom  he 
believed,  even  God,  who  quickeneth  the  dead,  and  calleth 
those  things  which  be  not  as  though  they  were  : 


In  these  verses,  which  contain  some  difficult  and 
obscure  phrases  and  constructions,  a  further  step  is 
taken  in  the  elucidation  of  the  idea  of  faith.  For 
circumcision,  though  partaking  of  a  legalist  char- 
acter and  afterwards  embodied  in  the  law,  was  yet 
instituted  long  before  the  days  of  the  Mosaic 
covenant.  Hence  the  need  for  more  definitely 
contrasting  law  and  faith.  This  is  done  through 
the  use  of  that  ^^ promise"  on  which  Abraham's 
faith  fastened,  and  from  which  the  history  of  grace 
took  its  rise.  The  promise  of  God  was  addressed 
to  Abraham,  and  embraced  '^^  his  seed "  in  its 
scope,  not  in  relation  to  the  principle  of  law,  but 


192    Westminster  New  Testament 

wholly  and  solely  in  relation  to  his  faith  and  to 
theirs.  If  those  who  attempt  to  take  their  stand 
before  God  upon  "  the  law  "  were  to  inherit,  both 
faith  and  promise  would  lose  their  meaning  and 
reality  (13,  14).  But  it  cannot  be  so.  For  it  has 
been,  and  it  is,  of  the  nature, of  the  law  to  confront 
men  with  wrath  by  bringing  home  to  them  the 
fact  of  transgression  (15).  Hence  it  is  clear  that 
the  promise,  flowing  from  grace,  could  only  be 
addressed  to,  and  take  effect  through,  faith  ;  and 
this  with  the  intended  result  that  all  who  believe 
God,  in  His  omnipotence  over  death  and  the  future, 
as  Abraham  did,  should  be  counted  as  his  seed, 
whether  they  were  born  under  the  law  or  not 
(16,  17). 

13.  R.V.  keeps  the  better  order  and  brings  out 
the  true  emphasis  here :  "  For  not  through  the 
law  (inargin,  through  law)  was  the  promise  to 
Abraham,  or  to  his  seed,  that  he  should  be  heir  of 
the  world,"  etc.  Instead  of  appealing  again  to 
the  historical  order  of  these  facts,  the  Apostle  deals 
with  the  principles  involved,  on  the  one  hand — 
law,  works,  wrath  ;  on  the  other  hand — promise, 
faith,  grace.  On  the  antagonism  of  these  the 
argument  is  hinged.  the  promise.  In  Gal. 
iii.  8  this  promise  is  called  "the  gospel,"  so 
directly  and  really  in  Paul's  thought  does  the  one 
will  of  God  run  through  the  ages  (cf.  Heb.  xi. 
8-16,  39,  40).  heir  of  the  world.  This  phrase 
is  a  kind  of  summary  of  the  various  promises  made 
to  Abraham,  which,  taken  together,  imply  that 
through  his  descendants  a  spiritual  dominion  over 
all  races  would  accrue  to  him  (cf.  Gen.  xii.  3,  7, 
xiii.  14-17,  XV.  5,  6,  xvii.  7,  8,  xxii.  15-18). 
through    the    righteousness    of    faith.   Lit., 


Romans  iv.  13-17  193 

"  through  righteousness  of  faith."     The  phrase  has 
become  almost  a  technical  term^  so  soon. 

14,  15.  Cf.  the  argument  in  Gal.  iii.  17-19. 
If  legalists  inherit,  believers  are  vanity ;  if  the  law 
succeeds,  the  promise  fails.  But  this  is  nonsense, 
for  we  know  that  law  cannot  succeed ;  its  only- 
product  is  wrath,  since  it  is  in  a  world  of  law  that 
transgression  appears. 

16.  The  last  part  of  this  verse  is  most  obscure. 
The  meaning  is  best  brought  out  by  inserting  two 
parentheses  "  not  to  that  (seed)  only  which  is  of 
the  law  (and  believes),  but  to  that  also  which  is  of 
the  faith  of  Abraham  (apart  from  the  law)."  The 
Apostle  evidently  intended  to  say  that  the  promise 
is  available,  in  the  purpose  of  God,  alike  for  Jews 
who  become  believers  and  for  Gentiles  who  become 
believers.  They  all  have  the  right  to  say  "  Abraham 
is  our  father." 

17.  as  it  is  written  (Gen.  xvii.  5).  before 
him  whom  he  believed,  even  God.  Some 
would  make  the  parenthesis  begin  with  "who  is 
the  father  of  us  all"  of  ver.  I6,  so  as  to  connect 
"the  faith  of  Abraham"  with  this  clause.  Abraham 
exercised  his  faith  as  in  the  very  presence  of  God, 
before  the  face  of  Him  whom  he  trusted,  who 
quickeneth  the  dead.  This  probably  refers  to 
the  fact  named  in  ver.  I9  (cf.  Gen.  xi.  12).  and 
calleth,  etc.  (cf.  Heb.  xi.  3).  But  this  passage 
does  not  refer  to  the  creative  act  of  God  calling 
them  into  being.  It  means  that  God  speaks  of  or 
names  them.  The  Apostle's  mind  is  fixed  on  the 
thought  of  "the  promise."  When  men  make 
promises  they  are  necessarily  dependent  on  many 
"ifs,"  and  uncertainty  is  in  the  best  of  them. 
But    when    the  Divine    Promiser  speaks    He   can 

13 


194   Westminster  New  Testament 

speak  of  things  not  yet  here,  as  if  already  here, 
so  sure  is  the  fulfilment.  Faith  (cf.  Heb.  xi.  1) 
according  to  its  energy  does  the  same.  Both  for 
the  promise  of  God  and  for  the  faith  of  man  that 
which  is  in  the  Divine  purpose  already  is. 


(4)  The  practical  power  of  faith  (iv.  18-22). 

18  Who  against  hope  believed  in  hope,  that  he  might  become 
the  father  of  many  nations,  according  to  that  which  was 

19  spoken,  So  shall  thy  seed  be.  And  being  not  weak  in 
faith,  he  considered  not  his  own  body  now  dead,  when  he 
was  about  a  hundred  years  old,  neither  yet  the  deadness  of 

20  Sarah's  womb  :  he  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God 
through    unbelief;    but  was  strong  in  faith,   giving  glory 

21  to  God  ;    and  being  fully   persuaded,   that   what   he  had 

22  promised,  he  was  able  also  to  perform.  And  therefore  it 
was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness. 

The  last  verse  (17)  leads  the  argument  naturally 
to  describe  such  faith  as  that  of  Abraham,  as  it 
takes  hold  of  life  and  becomes  a  force  in  history. 
This  is  the  underlying  subject  of  Heb.  xi.  1-xii.  2. 
Abraham  was  put  to  a  severe  test,  for  the  promise 
had  to  do  with  his  descendants  at  a  time  of  life 
when  he  and  his  wife  could  no  longer  expect  to 
have  children,  (l)  The  extreme  difficulty  of  faith 
in  such  circumstances  is  brought  out :  "  believed 
against  hope"  (ver.  18),  "without  being  weakened 
in  faith  he  considered,"  etc.  (ver.  19).  (2)  The 
extraordinary  power  of  his  faith  is  set  forth  :  "  he 
wavered  not,"  "  waxed  strong  through  faith,"  "was 
fully  assured"  (ver.  20).     (3)  The  source  of  such 


Romans  iv.  18-22  195 

faith  is  in  this  that  he  fastened  his  mind  on  the 
promise  and  on  the  glorious  power  of  God 
(vers.  20,  21). 

18.  that  he  might  become  the  father.  R.V., 
"to  the  end  that  he  might  become  a  father."  The 
words  express  the  effect  of  his  faith  and  of  the 
Divine  purpose.  They  hover  between  saying  "  he 
beUeved  that  he  would  become  "  and  "  he  believed 
so  that  he  did  become."  So  shall  thy  seed  be. 
Memory  must  fill  out  the  meaning  of  "  so  "  from 
Gen.  XV.  5. 

19.  being  not  weak  in  faith,  he  considered 
not  his  own  body  now  dead.  R.V.,  "without 
being  weakened  in  faith  he  considered  his  own 
body  now  as  good  as  dead."  R.V.  margin  omits 
"now."  The  omission  of  "not"  after  "con- 
sidered" is  correct.  Paul  explains  the  phrase 
"against  hope"  in  ver.  18.  Even  though  he 
attentively  looked  upon  (cf.  Luke  vi.  41,  xii.  24  ; 
Heb.  iii.  1  ;  Jas.  i.  23)  the  fact  that  for  the  bearing 
of  children  both  he  and  Sarah  were  dead,  Abraham's 
faith  did  not  weaken. 

20.  he  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of 
God  through  unbelief.  R.V.,  "yea,  looking 
unto  the  promise  of  God,  he  wavered  not  through 
unbelief."  The  R.V.  brings  out  better  the  force 
of  the  words.  For  "  wavering "  in  faith,  cf. 
Matt.  xxi.  21  ;  Jas.  i.  6.  The  word  means  to  be 
divided  in  one's  judgment,  now  affirming  and  now 
denying,  was  strong  in  faith.  R.V.,  "waxed 
strong  through  faith"  (cf.  Heb.  xi.  11).  Un- 
belief did  not  make  him  waver,  faith  gave  him 
power,  ^ivm^  glory  to  God.  A  Hebrew  ex- 
pression (Acts  xii.  23  ;  John  ix.  24). 

21.  being  fully  persuaded.  R.V.,  "assured." 


196   Westminster  New  Testament 

The  exact  opposite  of  the  divided  judgment  is  that 
which  is  filled  full  with  conviction. 

22.  And  therefore  it  was  imputed  to  him. 
R.V.,  ^^  Wherefore  also  it  was  reckoned  unto  him." 
The  Apostle  returns  to  his  thesis.  This  faith  in 
God^  so  direct  ("believed  God/'  vers.  3,  17),  so 
spiritual  ("promise"  and  not  "law"),  so  powerful, 
was  the  sole  ground  on  which  God  counted 
Abraham  as  standing  right  with  Him. 


(5)  Conclusion :  the  unity  of  Abraham's  faith  and 
ours  (iv.  23-25). 

23  Now   it   was  not  written  for  his  sake  alone,  that  it   was 

24  imputed  to  him ;   but  for   us  also,  to   whom  it   shall  be 
imputed,  if  we  believe  on  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord 

25  from  the  dead  ;   who  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  and 
was  raised  again  for  our  justification. 

23,  24.  The  Scripture  records  an  act  of  God  in 
Abraham's  case  which  did  not  concern  Abraham 
only  (cf.  Gal.  iii.  8).  Paul  may  have  had  in  mind 
that  Abraham's  faith  dealt  with  a  promise  which 
is  now  being  fulfilled  to  believers.  But  his 
language  refers  explicitly  to  the  constant  correlative 
of  the  promise^,  namely,  the  faith  which  was 
reckoned  for  righteousness.  That  principle  was 
not  intended  to  end  with  him  in  whom  it  first  came 
to  light,  but  for  US  also.  R.V.,  "but  for  our 
sake  also."  Paul  views  the  whole  story  of  the 
promise  and  the  law  as  a  living  process  in  which 
the  end  was  foreseen  of  God.  And  we  looking 
back  can  see  the  end  in  the  beginning,  the  one 
meaning   that   lives   through   all    the   stages    (cf. 


Romans  iv.  23-25  197 

Heb.  xi.  39,  40).  to  whom  it  shall  be  imputed. 

R.V.,  "  unto  whom  it  shall  be  reckoned."  To  us, 
who  believe,  it  is  to  be  reckoned,  if  we  believe 
on  him,  etc.  R.V.,  "  who  believe  on  him  that 
raised  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the  dead."  Abraham 
believed  that  God  would  give  descendants  to  one 
^'^as  good  as  dead."  Our  faith  is  fixed  on  the 
same  God,  but  in  virtue  of  a  deed  of  transcendent 
power  already  accomplished.  Paul  is  always  filled 
with  awe  and  triumph  when  he  thinks  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ.  It  was  a  revelation  of  the 
majesty  and  omnipotence  of  God  (Eph.  i.  19 ; 
Phil.  iii.  21),  of  the  glory  of  Jesus  as  Messiah  and 
Lord  of  all  (Rom.  i.  4;  Phil.  ii.  9-11,  iii.  10; 
Rom.  vi.  1-11,  viii.  11),  as  the  type  and  promise 
of  our  own  triumph  over  death  (Phil.  iii.  21 ; 
1  Cor.  XV.). 

25.  who  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  etc. 
R.V.,  '^^who  was  delivered  up  for  our  trespasses,  and 
was  raised  for  our  justification."  When  faith  is 
fixed  on  God  it  is  always  with  some  meaning 
attached  to  His  power.  It  is  power  with  purpose 
that  we  trust.  The  purpose  of  God  is  revealed  in 
His  dealings  with  Christ.  When  He  was  delivered 
up  to  death  (cf.  iii.  25)  it  was  in  respect  of  our 
trespasses.  When  He  was  raised  by  the  same 
authoritative  and  supreme  will  it  was  in  respect 
of  our  justification.  When  we  believe  in  God, 
therefore,  it  is  as  the  God  whose  will  concerning 
us  is  revealed,  beyond  our  doubt  or  denial,  in  those 
supreme  deeds. 

We  must  not  insist  that  Paul  means  here  to 
restrict  justification  as  the  peculiar  fruit  of  the 
resurrection.  Justification  deals  with  trespasses. 
He  views  the  death  of  Christ  as    the  act  necessi- 


198   Westminster  New  Testament 

tated,  so  to  speak,  by  the  fact  of  sin,  and  justifica- 
tion as  the  act  which  is  possible  only  when  death 
and  resurrection  have  both  been  accomplished  and 
proclaimed.  Both  the  death  and  the  resurrection 
have  relation  both  to  sin  and  justification  according 
to  the  whole  tenor  of  his  teaching. 

Note  on  Paul's  exposition  of  Abraham's  faith. 

In  this  chapter  we  find  that,  while  on  the  surface, 
and  using  the  current  media  of  religious  thought, 
the  Apostle  has  dealt  with  a  historical  event  in  its 
various  aspects,  he  has  really,  more  suo,  been  wind- 
ing his  way  into  the  very  nature  of  the  great 
principle  of  Faith  in  its  relation  to  the  great  act 
of  justification.  It  is  clear  now  (l)  that  faith  is 
an  act  in  which  man  disowns  all  merit  and  ceases 
to  "  work  "  ;  (2)  that  it  is  a  universal  principle  which 
can  be  used  by  all  men  of  every  race ;  (3)  that  it 
faces  God  in  His  grace,  and  not  as  the  lawgiver, 
whose  will  of  grace  began  to  be  revealed  once  in 
a  promise  born  of  His  power  and  His  purpose ; 
(4)  that  this  power  is  power  of  life  and  death,  and, 
while  revealed  in  one  way  to  an  earlier  life,  is 
revealed  supremely  now  in  Jesus  our  Lord,  whom 
it  appointed  to  death  and  raised  from  death. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  know  now  (1)  that 
justification  means  reckoning  as  righteous  the  man 
who  has  been  ungodly  and  sinful ;  (2)  that  without 
any  racial  qualification  in  it,  it  comes  upon,  or  is 
reckoned  to,  or  in  God's  eyes,  it  describes  the 
relation  of  the  man  who  believes  ;  (3)  that  as  a 
way  of  dealing  with  man's  relations  to  God  it 
supersedes  the  promulgation  and  judicial  enforce- 
ment of  the  law ;  (4)  that  this  act  of  pardon  and 
acceptance    is    exerted    upon    him    who    abandons 


Romans  v.  i-ii  199 

himself  wholly  to  the  power  of  God  to  fulfil  his 
purpose  of  goodwill ;  (5)  and,  lastly,  that  this 
purpose  is  now  addressed  to  us,  in  Jesus  our  Lord. 


Rom.  V.  i-ii. 

2.  JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  AND  FINAL 
SALVATION. 

1  Therefore  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God 

2  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  by  whom  also  we  have 
access   by  faith   into   this   grace   wherein   we   stand,   and 

3  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  And  not  only  so, 
but  we  glory  in  tribulations  also  ;  knowing  that  tribulation 

4  worketh   patience ;    and    patience,    experience ;    and   ex- 

5  perience,  hope  :  and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed  ;  because 
the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 

6  Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us.  For  when  we  were  yet 
without  strength,  in  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly. 

7  For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die  :  yet  per- 
adventure  for  a  good  man  some  would  even  dare  to  die. 

8  But  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while 

9  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.  Much  more  then, 
being  now  justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from 

ID  wrath  through  him.  For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we 
were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son;  much 
more,    being   reconciled,  we   shall   be   saved   by  his   life. 

II  And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received  the  atonement. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  Apostle  Paul 
speaks  of  salvation  as  in  its  complete  sense  lying 
in  the  future  (see  notes  on  i.  l6,  ii.  5,  l6).  We 
have  also  seen  that  in  the  case  of  Abraham  the 
faith  which  was  reckoned  to  him  as  righteousness 
was  directed  through  the  promise   to  the  future. 


200   Westminster  New  Testament 

These  facts  naturally  raise  the  question  as  to  the 
relation  of  the  Christian  justification  by  faith  to 
that  ultimate  salvation,  in  the  future.  It  is  a 
present  act,  conferring  a  present  status  before  God. 
In  it  righteousness  is  reckoned  actually  and  by  God 
Himself  to  the  believing  man.  But  its  meaning 
and  power  cannot  be  exhausted  here  and  now, 
and  it  must  have  some  relation  to  the  day  of 
judgment.  In  this  paragraph  the  Apostle  deals 
with  some  aspects  of  that  question  through  two 
steps.  (1)  First  he  describes  the  emotional  and 
volitional  changes  wrought  in  the  believing  man 
by  this  Divine  act  (vers.  1-5).  (2)  Then,  taking 
up  the  idea  of  "hope"  and  that  word  "love,"  he 
unfolds  the  inner  reasons  for  the  great  confidence 
with  which  the  man  who  is  now  justified  can  look 
forward  to  the  final  salvation  (vers.  6-11). 

1.  Therefore  being  justified  by  faith.  Hav- 
ing stated  the  method  by  which  justification 
through  faith  was  made  possible  (iii.  21-26),  and 
having  illustrated  and  described  it  through  the  case 
of  Abraham,  Paul  now  takes  up  the  fact  as  one  of 
experience,  both  for  his  readers  and  himself  (cf. 
the  two  preceding  verses,  with  which  this  must  be 
connected),  we  have  peace.  R. V.,  "  let  us  have 
{inargin,  we  have)  peace."  The  question  of  the 
true  reading  here  is  very  puzzling.  The  evidence 
of  the  MSS  is  overwhelming  in  favour  of  the  R.V. 
But  the  internal  evidence  is  quite  strong  against 
it.  The  difference  in  Greek  is  in  one  vowel — 
between  6  and  o — and  there  are  many  passages 
in  N.T.  where  the  substitution  of  5  for  6  by  an 
error  of  copyists  is  quite  evident.  As  the  other 
verbs  in  this  passage  are  in  the  indicative  mood, 
it  is  better  to  take  the  reading  of  A.V.  and  R.V. 


Romans  v.  i-ii  201 

margin.  And  that  especially  because  in  Paul's 
usage  the  word  "  peace "  includes  the  relations  of 
peace  and  the  feeling  of  peace,  with  emphasis  now 
on  one  and  now  on  the  other,  with  God.  It 
would  be  better  to  say  "towards  God."  The 
Greek  word  is  used  by  Paul  (1  Thess.  v.  12; 
2  Cor.  iv.  2,  vii.  12;  Col.  iv.  5)  for  "the  state  of 
feeling  towards  some  one"  (Winer) — and  we  may 
add  "the  movement  of  will"  (cf.  Luke  xxiii.  12; 
Acts  vi.  1  ;  Heb.  xii.  4).  The  Apostle  seems  to 
mean  both  that  a  state  of  peace  has  been  estab- 
lished, and  that,  being  justified,  our  hearts  move 
out  towards  God  in  peace  (cf.  Gal.  v.  22  and 
the  frequent  benediction  "  grace  to  you  and  peace," 
Rom.  i.  7,  etc.).  There  is  no  passage  in  Paul's 
writings  where  "peace"  is  explicitly  and  indis- 
putably used  for  the  removal  of  the  Divine  con- 
demnation alone.  That  is  implied  always,  of 
course,  but  the  Apostle  prevailingly  uses  the  term 
as  the  correlative  of  mercy  (as  in  the  opening 
benediction  of  all  his  letters),  and  in  many  passages 
the  emotional  element  is  prominent  (Rom.  xiv.  7, 
XV.  13  ;  Phil.  iv.  7  ;  Gal.  v.  22).  The  word  is  used 
in  Eph.  ii.  for  the  reconciliation  of  Jew  and  Gentile. 
2.  By  whom  also  we  have  access.  R.V., 
"Through  whom  also  we  have  had  our  access." 
This  is  a  statement  of  the  pre-condition  of 
our  "peace  towards  God."  Christ  has  already 
given  us  an  introduction  (more  formal  than 
"access")  into  this  grace.  Our  justification, 
our  standing  in  right  relations  with  the  King  of 
Glory,  is  the  deed  of  Christ  upon  us  individually. 
and  rejoice  in  hope.  R.V.,  "and  let  us  {margin^ 
we)  rejoice."  The  A.V.  and  R.V.  margin  is  better. 
That  "introduction"  gives  us  the  right  to  boast 


202    Westminster  New  Testament 

over  or  upon  the  hope  which  that  "introduction" 
has  awakened  in  us  (cf.  in  contrast  iii.  27).  the 
glory  of  God.  This  can  only  refer  to  the  day 
of  the  heavenly  kingdom  (cf.  Tit.  ii.  13,  "looking 
for  the  blessed  hope  and  appearing  of  the  glory 
of  the  great  God  "). 

3.  And  not  only  so.  This  blissful  state  of 
justification  does  not  free  us  from  the  burdens 
of  this  life.  We  (Christians)  must  count  upon 
tribulations.  But  even  in  the  very  midst  of  them 
we  still  rejoice  (not,  "let  us  rejoice/'  with  R.V.). 
We  maintain  our  boasting,  our  glorious  confidence. 
tribulations.  While  the  word  is  sometimes  used 
of  persecutions  (as  2  Thess.  i.  4>,  6),  and  sometimes 
in  connection  with  persecutions,  as  describing  the 
suffering  which  they  involve  (Mark  iv.  17;  Matt, 
xiii.  21  ;  Acts  xi.  19 ;  2  Thess.  i.  4),  it  is  also  used 
of  spiritual  sorrow  (Rom.  viii.  35  ;  2  Cor.  i.  4,  ii.  4 ; 
Phil.  i.  17).  worketh  patience  (cf.  xii.  12).  We 
must  not  think  of  this  "  patience "  negatively. 
The  men  who  have  pressed  on  through  persecution 
have  had  the  endurance  of  heroes. 

4.  experience.  R.V.,  "probation."  Neither 
word  is  exact,  and  probably  we  have  no  real  English 
equivalent.  It  means  tested,  proved,  "  the  temper 
of  the  veteran "  (Sanday  and  Headlam),  hope. 
So  we  come  back  to  the  permanent  attitude,  the 
emotion  and  determination  of  the  believing  man 
towards  the  future.  But  observe  that  this  is 
"  hope  "  after  trial,  the  same  hope  that  rose  with 
faith  and  justification,  but  is  now  intensified  and 
confirmed  by  endurance.  Paul  returns  to  all  this 
in  the  end  of  chap.  viii.     (Cf.  Jas.  i.  2,  3,  1  2.) 

5.  And  hope  maketh  not  ashamed.  R.V., 
"  Putteth  not  to  shame  "   (cf.   Ps.  xxii.  5,  xxv.  2). 


Romans  v.  i-ii  203 

There  can  be  no  disappointment  in  store  for  the 
hope  so  awakened  and  so  confirmed,  because 
the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts. 
R.V.,  "  hath  been  shed  abroad."  The  word  means 
"has  been  pom^ed  out  of  something,"  the  impHed 
source  of  it  being  the  heart  of  God.  It  is  not  our 
love  to  Him,  always  variable  and  imperfect,  but 
His  love,  ever  full  and  rich  and  true,  which  is  the 
foundation  of  constant  hope,  in  OUr  hearts. 
Not  merely  "into  our  hearts."  Our  hearts  are 
receptacles  which  hold  it.  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  is  given  to  us.  R.V.,  "through  the  Holy 
Ghost  (^margin,  Holy  Spirit)  which  was  given  to 
us."  The  influence  of  the  Spirit  is  dealt  with 
later  on  in  the  Epistle  (see  on  chap.  viii.).  It  is 
not  safe  to  assume  that  the  Roman  readers  knew 
the  story  of  Pentecost  (but  cf.  Introduction), 
hence  it  is  best  to  understand  the  words  "  which 
was  given  to  us"  as  referring  to  the  experience 
which  came  upon  the  early  believers  at  their 
baptism  (cf.  Acts  ii.  38  ;  Gal.  iii.  2). 

6.  For  when  we  were  yet  without  strength. 
R.V.J  "  For  while  we  were  yet  weak."  On  the 
correct  reading  of  the  first  words  in  Greek  there 
is  much  division  of  opinion  among  scholars.  Many 
incline  to  a  reading  which  both  A.V.  and  R.V. 
have  rejected,  and  which  would  be  translated  "as 
surely  as,"  or  "  always  supposing  that."  Then  the 
connection  of  ideas  would  be :  Our  hope  is  sure, 
because  the  love  of  God  fills  our  hearts,  in  presence 
of  the  fact  accepted  by  us  all,  that  Christ  died  for 
us.  In  viii.  3  Paul  says  "the  law  was  weak 
through  the  flesh,"  and  here  we  were  "  weak  " — 
two  sides  of  one  fact,  namely,  that  men  were 
unable  to  do  God's  will,     in  due  time.    R.V.,  "in 


204   Westminster  New  Testament 

due  season  "  (see  on  Gal.  iv.  4  ;  Eph.  i.  10,  and 
Rom.  iii.  26).  for  the  ungodly.  Whether  He 
died  "  in  their  room  and  stead  "  is  not  stated  here. 
The  emphasis  is  on  the  idea  that  He  had  them  in 
His  mind,  and  on  their  behalf  went  to  His  death. 

7.  The  Apostle  wishes  to  present  the  fulness  of 
the  love,  the  grace,  the  royal  freedom  and  pitiful- 
ness  of  the  Divine  act  on  the  cross.  Hence  he 
appeals  to  a  general  human  instinct,  by  which  we 
distinguish  the  righteous  or  dutiful  man  from  the 
good  man.  While  the  former  is  admirable,  the 
latter  alone  is  attractive.  Of  righteousness  we 
stand  in  awe,  but  goodness  kindles  our  hearts. 
The  R.V.  margin  "  that  which  is  good  "  instead  of 
"  a  (or,  the)  good  man  "  destroys  the  meaning  of 
the  argument. 

8.  If  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  men  dying  for 
a  righteous  man,  or  even,  as  is  not  quite  so 
difficult  perhaps,  for  a  man  of  attractive  goodness, 
what  shall  we  say  of  this  love  of  God  }  For  God 
commendeth  his  love.  R.V.,  "his  own  love," 
i.e.  he  proves  it  unmistakably  as  being  His  and  as 

directed  upon  us.  while  we  were  yet  sinners. 

Who  would  die  for  a  criminal,  if  hardly  any  would 
die  even  for  the  best  of  men,  "  the  good  man  "  } 
But  Christ  died  for  us  when  not  only  "weak" 
(ver.  6)  (the  word  suggests  contempt),  but  when 
sinful  (and  therefore  objects  of  moral  indignation). 
We  must  observe  that  it  is  the  love  of  God  which 
is  thus  "  commended  "  in  the  death  of  Christ,  who 
is  the  Son  of  God  (cf.  Rom.  viii.  32). 

9.  saved  from  wrath  by  his  life.  R.V., 
"  saved  from  the  wrath  of  God  through  him."  The 
Apostle  is  answering  the  unexpressed  question. 
How  shall  we,  who  are  justified  now,  stand  in  the 


Romans  v.  i-ii  205 

day  of  judgment  ?  He  answers,  after  the  preced- 
ing statements  about  hope  and  love,  about  the 
fact  of  the  redemptive  death  and  the  experienced 
justification  (or  reconciliation),  that  there  is  an 
inner  logic,  a  moral  force  in  the  whole  situation, 
a  purpose  connecting  the  first  step  with  the  final 
issue,  which  we  must  feel,  and  on  which  we  must 
rest  our  confidence.  That  inner  force  or  logic  is 
expressed  in  the  words  much  more  (repeated  in 
next  verse),  and  is  the  very  heart  of  our  hope. 
being  now  justified  by  (R.V.  margin,  "in") 
his  blood  is  a  present  and  a  glorious  fact.  We 
can  conceive  it,  describe  it,  rejoice  in  it,  as  it  is. 
But  it  is  not  the  end ;  it  is  the  beginning.  It 
establishes  relations  which  can  only  be  fully 
realized  when  we  are  at  last  saved  from  the  wrath 
of  that  day.  through  him.  Christ  is  the  sole 
medium  through  which  God  acts  upon  human  nature 
and  human  destiny.  He  is  the  First  and  the  Last. 
10.  reconciled.  The  Apostle  never  speaks  of 
God  as  our  enemy,  though  he  speaks  of  His  wrath. 
A  judge  is  not  an  enemy,  in  any  ordinary  sense,  of 
the  condemned  culprit.  But  Paul  does  speak  of 
the  relations  of  God  and  man  as  mutual  in  all 
their  aspects  ;  and  this  is  indeed  implied  in  that 
fundamental  conception  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ 
which  is  common  to  most  N.T.  writers.  Hence 
the  power  of  this  verse,  "  While  we  were  enemies 
we  were  reconciled,"  can  only  mean  that  God,  in 
His  immeasurable  love,  provided  the  means  by 
which  mutual  relations  should  be  changed.  We 
have  received  reconciliation  as  a  gift  (next  verse) 
(cf.  2  Cor.  V.  18-21).  It  made  an  infinite  difference 
to  God  in  His  active  relations  with  men  that  His 
Son    had    died    for   them.     There    the    supreme 


2o6   Westminster  New  Testament 

problem  was  decisively  solved.  "  Much  more " 
suggests  that  for  God  the  future  event  is  much 
less  than  the  past.  That  deed  "  in  his  blood " 
made  all  the  rest  possible,  saved  by  (or,  in) 
his  life.  The  living  Christ  is  the  pledge  and  the 
power  securing  that  His  death  shall  not  be  in  vain. 
The  doctrine  of  union  with  God  is  drawn  out  in 
chap,  vi.,  and  is  a  ruling  conception  of  later 
epistles  (Col.,  Eph.,  Phil.). 

11.  And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in 

God.  R.V.,  "  but  we  also  rejoice  (margin,  but  also 
glorying)  in  God."  The  reading  in  R.V.  margin 
is  correct,  but  A.V.  gives  the  meaning.  The 
Apostle  returns  to  ver.  1  as  if  now  there  were 
more  reason  than  ever  to  "boast"  in  our  God. 
Not  only  a  present  status  of  peace,  but  a  future 
of  assured  hope  is  opened  to  us  through  one  and 
the  same  wondrous  being,  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  our 
Lord,  the  master  and  ruler  of  our  life,  the  ground 
of  our  justification  now,  and  the  source  of  our  com- 
pleted salvation  in  the  eternal  world. 


Rom.  V.  12-21. 

3.  ONE  SIN  AND  A  WORLD  OF  DEATH, 
ONE  DEATH  AND  A  WORLD  OF  RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS. 

12  Wherefore,  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and 
death  by  sin  ;  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that 

13  all  have  sinned  :  (for  until  the  law  sin  was  in  the  world  : 

14  but  sin  is  not  imputed  when  there  is  no  law.  Nevertheless 
death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even  over  them  that 
had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgression, 

15  who  is  the  figure  of  him  that  was  to  come.     But  not  as 


Romans  v.  12-21  207 

the  offence,  so  also  is  the  free  gift :  for  if  through  the 
offence  of  one  many  be  dead,  much  more  the  grace  of  God, 
and  the  gift  by  grace,  which  is  by  one  man,  Jesus  Christ, 

16  hath  abounded  unto  many.  And  not  as  it  was  by  one 
that  sinned,  so  is  the  gift :  for  the  judgment  was  by  one 
to  condemnation,  but  the  free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto 

17  justification.  For  if  by  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by 
one  ;  much  more  they  which  receive  abundance  of  grace  and 
of  the  gift  of  righteousness  shall  reign  in  life  by  one,  Jesus 

1 8  Christ. )  Therefore,  as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came 
upon  all  men  to  condemnation  ;  even  so  by  the  righteousness 
of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of 

19  life.  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made 
sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made 

20  righteous.  Moreover  the  law  entered,  that  the  offence 
might  abound.     But  where  sin  abounded  grace  did  much 

21  more  abound:  that  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death,  even 
so  might  grace  reign  through  righteousness  unto  eternal 
life  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

This  is  one  of  those  New  Testament  passages 
around  which  the  greatest  controversies  have  raged. 
In  part  these  disputes  are  caused  by  the  difficulty 
of  interpreting  the  successive  portions  of  the 
Apostle's  argument.  For  the  grammatical  con- 
struction is  unusually  broken  even  for  Paul ;  there 
are  several  ellipses ;  and  various  statements  are 
made  which  seem  to  assume  a  background  of 
beliefs  now  unknown  to  us.  And  in  part  the 
obscurity  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  various 
possible  interpretations  have  become  intertwined 
with  great  theological  discussions  regarding  the 
nature  and  origin  of  sin.  Yet  the  motive  for  the 
whole  paragraph  is  obvious  and  simple  enough. 
Having  described  the  great  principle  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  of  redemption  by  the  cross  of  Christ, 


2o8   Westminster  New  Testament 

the  instinct  of  the  Apostle's  great  intellect  is  to 
give  this  principle  a  still  wider  and  deeper  set- 
ting than  he  had  done  in  chap,  iv.,  when  he  traced 
the  living  connection  of  Abraham's  faith  in  the 
promise  of  God  with  the  faith  in  Christ  who  fulfilled 
that  promise.  This  fulfilment  means  in  brief  that 
One  Person  is  the  instrument  of  the  world's 
salvation  from  sin.  Through  Him  righteousness 
and  life  eternal  are  available  for  all  human  beings. 
Now  the  account  in  Gen.  iii.  does  likewise  connect 
the  origin  of  sin  and  death  with  one  man.  In  the 
providence  of  God  these  two  facts  stand  out  and 
challenge  comparison  both  in  their  likeness  and  in 
their  contrast.  And  the  Apostle  feels  compelled 
to  essay  the  task.  Perhaps  it  is  not  rash  to  say- 
that  as  the  preceding  paragraph  has  been  looking 
forward  to  the  great  consummation,  the  final  issue 
of  human  history,  and  of  the  redeeming  work  of 
God,  it  was  a  natural  movement  of  thought  which 
carried  a  mind  charged  with  the  instinct  for  wide 
and  systematizing  thought  to  go  back  to  the 
beginning  and  consider  the  source  of  that  sin,  the 
salvation  from  which  is  to  be  so  glorious. 

12.  as  by  one  man.  R.V.,  "as  through  one 
man."  The  Apostle  assumes  that  his  readers 
know  and  accept  the  story  of  Adam's  sin,  as  told 
in  Gen.  iii.,  and  that  they  are  also  familiar  with 
the  idea,  which  was  not  explicitly  taught  in  the 
O.T.  but  was  current  in  Jewish  theology,  that  the 
universality  of  sin  was  due  in  some  way  to  the 
first  man's  sin.  sin.  In  this  paragraph  Paul  twice 
thus  personifies  sin  (ver.  21),  just  as  he  also 
personifies  death  (vers.  14,  17).  In  neither  case 
would  it  be  right  to  consider  this  as  more  than  a 
form  of  thought  or  expression.     Hence  to  identify 


Romans  v.  12-21  209 

Sin  with  Satan  is  out  of  the  question.  He  pictures 
Sin  as  a  great  force  of  world-wide  influence^  in 
order  to  make  vivid  the  fact  that  the  race,  in  some 
undefined  way,  has  received  a  "  set "  in  the 
direction  of  wrong-doing,  death  through  sin. 
Undoubtedly  Paul  is  thinking  of  actual  and 
physical  death.  But  also  of  much  more  than  that. 
Death  stands  in  his  thought  for  all  woe  and  loss — 
in  fact,  for  doom.  Here  death  is  conceived  of  as 
a  force  which,  in  all  the  ranges  of  its  dreadful 
meaning,  reigns  or  is  king  over  mankind,  and  ob- 
tained its  sway  by  means  of  sin.  But  in  ver.  21 
the  terms  are  reversed.  Sin  is  there  pictured  as 
the  king  and  death  as  the  pervasive  characteristic 

of  his  dominion,  and  SO  death  passed  upon 
(R.V.,  "  unto  ")  all  men.  Death  went  through  the 
world  as  sin  opened  the  way.  for  that  all  have 
sinned.  R.V.,  "all  sinned."  We  should  read  it, 
"because  all  men  sinned."  Here  is  one  of  the 
momentous  sayings.  How  did  death  in  Paul's 
view  come  to  all }  There  are  two  important  sets 
of  answers,  (a)  All  men  sinned  in  some  sense 
when  Adam  sinned.  But  in  what  sense  ?  Here 
again  opinions  diverge.  Some  say  that  because 
Adam  was  the  representative  of  the  future  race, 
whatsoever  he  did  must  therefore  be  counted  for 
or  against  all  men.  He  sinned,  and  his  guilt  is 
therefore  charged  to  the  account  of  all  for  whom 
he  stood.  Others,  more  realistically,  say  that  as 
in  Adam's  own  person  the  whole  race  was  con- 
tained, it  was  inevitable  that  his  offspring  should 
inherit  both  the  con-uption  of  nature  which  sin 
entailed  on  himself  and  the  relations  with  God 
which  that  corruption  establishes,  including  the 
Divine  wrath.     Others,  again,  maintain  that  there 

14 


2IO   Westminster  New  Testament 

is  here  a  kind  of  "  mystical  realism/'  such  as  we 
find  in  Gal.  ii.  20,  where  Paul  says,  "  I  was  crucified 
with  Christ."  The  consequences  of  a  great  and 
crucial  act,  such  as  the  first  man's  sin  or  Christ's 
redeeming  act  on  the  cross,  are  read  back  into  the 
act  itself  and,  as  it  were,  identified  with  it.  When 
Christ  died  all  died  (2  Cor.  v.  14)  ;  when  Adam 
sinned  all  sinned.  (U)  The  simplest  answer  is  that 
which  takes  the  words  in  their  obvious  and 
grammatical  meaning.  Death  passed  through  the 
race,  because  all  members  of  the  race,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  sinned.  To  be  sure  that  leaves  Paul  in  the 
position  of  having  failed  to  explain  the  connection 
of  Adam's  sin  with  the  sin  of  all  men.  Perhaps 
he  was  content  to  have  it  so. 

13,  14.  for  until  the  law.  Here  begins  the 
longer  parenthesis.  We  have  many  illustrations 
of  the  way  in  which  the  idea  of  '^  the  law  "  haunted 
the  Apostle's  mind.  At  one  time  his  joy,  it 
became  his  burden,  then  the  obstacle  between  him 
and  Christ,  then  the  agonizmg  problem  for  thought 
when  faith  had  triumphed,  then  the  perpetual 
enemy  of  the  gospel  as  Judaizing  Christians 
pursued  his  steps,  and  always,  everywhere,  a 
feature  of  the  Divine  dealings  with  man  which  was 
difficult  to  explain,  even  to  Gentile  Christians. 
Evidently  Paul  conceives  of  sin  as  existing  in  the 
world  in  two  forms,  and  both  forms  produce  death. 
In  the  one  form  we  have  open  transgression,  as  in 
Adam's  sin  and  as  in  the  case  of  those  who  lived 
under  the  Mosaic  law.  To  all  such  sin  is  imputed 
or  "  charged  "  (same  word  in  Philem.  18)  explicitly. 
In  the  other  form  sin  is  present,  as  the  universal 
reign  of  death  proves,  but  it  is  not  like  Adam's 
sin.     Paul  does  not  define  this  matter  any  further 


Romans  v.    12-21  211 

here.  We  must  gather  his  opinion  from  other 
passages^  as  above,  in  chaps,  i.  18-ii.  l6.  The 
difficulty  here,  as  in  ii.  12  ff.,  arises  from  the 
Apostle's  uncertain  use  of  the  word  "law."  But 
his  object  is  plain.  He  wishes  to  insist  that  both 
sin  and  death,  which  is  universal  and  universally 
related  to  sin,  must  be  traced  back  to  Adam, 
who  is  the  figure.  R.  V., "  who  is  a  figure."  Lit., 
a  type.  In  the  N.T.  the  word  ranges  between  the 
purely  physical  meaning  of  a  mark  or  "  print " 
(John  XX.  25)  and  an  example  (1  Thess.  i.  7 ; 
Phil.  iii.  17);  also  used  as  a  form  or  standard  of 
teaching  (Rom.  vi.  17).  Here  Adam  is  taken  as  in 
some  sense  a  picture  or  forecast  of  Christ. 

15.  But  not  as  the  offence  (R.V., "  trespass "), 
so  also  is  the  free  gift.  The  Apostle  almost 
shrinks  from  the  comparison.  He  thinks  at  once 
of  the  contrast  between  the  two  and  pauses  to 
describe  the  difference  of  the  "  trespass  "  from  the 
wondrous  "free  gift"  of  God,  in  a  brief  inner 
parenthesis,  for  if  .  .  .  unto  many.  R.V.,  ^^for 
if  by  the  trespass  of  the  one  the  many  died,  much 
more  did  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by  the 
grace  of  the  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  abound  unto 
the  many."  He  revels  in  the  thought  of  the 
triumphant  grace,  which  has  conquered  both  sin 
and  death.  These  appear  as  hated  things  which 
are  swept  away  by  things  of  glorious  and  Divine 
energy.  There  is  no  question  of  "type"  here. 
There  is  in  these  respects  only  contrast  between 
the  work  of  Adam  and  the  work  of  Christ. 

16.  Another  contrast  stands  out  between  what 
came  "  through  one  that  sinned  "  and  that  peerless 
"gift."  for  the  judgment  .  .  .  unto  justifi- 
cation.   R.V.,   "for   the  judgment   came   of  one 


212    Westminster  New  Testament 

unto  condemnation,  but  the  free  gift  came  of  many 
trespasses  unto  justification  (margin,  an  act  of 
righteousness)."  From  one  act  of  trespass  God's 
judgment  arose  ;  but  out  of  "  many  trespasses  " — 
as  they  exposed  the  universal  need  of  man — 
strange  to  say,  God's  free  gift,  an  act  of  sheer 
grace  arose,  and  instead  of  condemnation  a  verdict 
of  acquittal  was  rendered. 

17.  Having,  as  it  were,  limited  his  use  of  the 
word  "type"  (ver.  14)  in  vers.  15,  l6,  Paul  returns 
to  the  word  "Death  was  King"  to  show  the 
positive  nature  of  that  comparison.  But  the 
^'^antitj^e"  can  only  be  described  so  as  to  show 
how  far  it  surpasses  the  type.  Death  became  king 
over  mankind  through  one  sin  (the  trespass)  of  one 
man.  But  men  now  become  kings  "in  life"  through 
another  "one"  Person  and  His  measureless  gift. 

18.  Therefore  as.  R.V.,  "Sothen  as."  Here 
the  Apostle  returns  to  state  the  original  comparison 
begun  in  ver.  12.  by  the  offence  of  one.  R.V., 
"through  one  trespass."  by  the  righteousness 
of  one.  R.V.,  "  through  one  act  of  righteousness." 
"  On  one  side  we  have  the  cause,  a  single  Fall ; 
and  the  effect,  extending  to  all  men,  condemnation. 
On  the  other  side  we  have  as  cause  a  single 
absolving  act ;  and  as  effect,  also  extending  to  all, 
a  like  process  of  absolution,  carrying  with  it  life  " 
(Sanday  and  Headlam). 

19.  The  comparison  is  repeated  with  emphasis 
on  the  words  "disobedience"  and  "obedience." 
Of  Christ's  obedience,  cf.  Phil.  ii.  8  ;  Heb.  v.  8,  9 ; 
John  X.  18,  xiv.  31,  xv.  10.  made  sinners,  made 
righteous.  The  word  "made"  is  very  unfortunate. 
"  Constituted  "  is  better,  but  the  full  meaning  is, 
"  considered  and  treated." 


Romans  v.   12-21  213 

20.  Moreover  the  law  entered,  that  the 
offence  might  abound.    R.V.,  "And  the  law 

{rnargin,  law)  came  in  beside^  that  the  trespass 
might  abound"  (of.  ver.  13).  The  same  word  is 
used  in  Gal.  ii.  4  of  the  "false  brethren"  who 
^'  came  in  privily."  They  were  intruders.  The 
law  has  stolen  into  the  situation  created  by  sin, 
and  has  increased  rather  than  diminished  the 
amount  of  trespassing.  The  best  commentary  on 
this  is  Gal.  iii.  19  ;  Rom.  vii.  7  ff. 

21.  The  climax  of  the  whole  paragraph  is  here, 
as  sin  reigned  unto  death.  R.V.,  "as  sin 
reigned  in  death."  Death  is,  as  it  were,  the 
universal  condition,  the  world  where  sin's  power 
and  character  is  exercised  and  revealed,     grace, 

righteousness,  eternal  life.   A  new  universe,  a 

kingdom  worthy  of  Him,  Jesus  the  historic 
Man,  Christ  the  fulfiller  of  the  promise,  our  Lord 
— the  One  Divine  and  Living  Power  who  holds  us 
and  our  destiny  in  His  hands. 

Note  on  "  Much  More." 

This  phrase  occurs  four  times  in  this  chapter 
(vers.  9,  10,  15,  17).  In  the  first  two  cases  it  is 
used  to  affirm  a  kind  of  spiritual  logic,  to  express 
a  degree  of  certainty  derived  from  insight  into  the 
inner  meaning  or  purpose  of  God  in  His  saving 
work.  It  is  a  form  of  the  argument  ajortiori.  It 
springs  from  the  experienced  fact  of  justification 
by  faith,  or  reconciliation  with  God  ;  it  ends  in  the 
certainty  that  this  experience  must  reach  its 
consummation.  It  also  springs  from  the  historic 
fact  that  God's  love  has  wrought  supremely  in  the 
death  of  Christ  for  us,  and  it  ends  in  the  certainty 


214   Westminster  New  Testament 

that  such  love  must  complete  its  work.  In  the 
second  two  cases  the  phrase  passes  from  the  less 
to  the  greater,  or,  at  any  rate,  from  the  lower  to  the 
higher  fact.  Trespass  and  death  are  indeed  facts 
of  awful  import  ;  well  might  we  consider  them 
immeasurable.  And  yet  they  appear  as  having 
lost  their  infinitude,  as  having  shrunk  in  their 
scale,  when  we  gaze  on  the  grace,  and  righteous- 
ness, and  life  which  are  overcoming  and  shall  over- 
come them  utterly  and  for  ever.  The  one  fact 
behind  both  sets  of  comparison,  which  gives  life 
and  force  to  the  phrase  "  much  more  "  is  the  will 
of  God.  The  Apostle  always  argues  on  these 
matters  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible,  as  if  feeling 
behind  all  the  great  powers  of  history  from  Adam 
to  Christ,  the  reality  of  the  Almighty  Will  of 
God. 

Rom.  vi.  1-14. 

4.   THE   JUSTIFIED    MAN   AND   THE 
NEW  LIFE. 

1  What  shall  we  say  then  ?     Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that 

2  grace  may  abound?     God  forbid.     How  shall  we,  that  are 

3  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ?  Know  ye  not,  that 
so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  were 

4  baptized  into  his  death  ?  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him 
by  baptism  into  death  :  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up 
from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also 

5  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  For  if  we  have  been 
planted  together  in^the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also 

6  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection  :  knowing  this,  that  our 
old  man  is  crucified  with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be 

7  destroyed,  that  henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin.     For 

8  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin.  Now  if  we  be  dead  with 
Christ,    we  believe   that   we    shall   also    live  with  him : 


Romans  vi.  1-14  215 

9  knowing  that  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead  dieth  no 

10  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.  For  in 
that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once  :  but  in  that  he  liveth, 

1 1  he  liveth  unto  God.  Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves 
to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through 

12  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Let  not  sin  therefore  reign  in 
your   mortal   body,    that   ye   should   obey   it   in  the  lusts 

13  thereof.  Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  instruments 
of  unrighteousness  unto  sin  :  but  yield  yourselves  unto 
God,    as  those   that  are  alive   from   the   dead,    and   your 

14  members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto  God.  For 
sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you  :  for  ye  are  not  under 
the  law,  but  under  grace. 

The  Apostle  now  proceeds  to  deal  with  the 
life  of  the  man  who  has  been  justified  through 
faith,  who  is  reckoned  as  righteous  before  God. 
Starting  out  from  the  question  as  to  the  Christian's 
relation  to  sin  (ver.  1),  he  asserts  that  he  has  died 
to  it  (ver.  2),  and  proceeds  to  explain  that  state- 
ment, (1)  by  a  reference  to  the  symbolism  of 
baptism  by  immersion,  which  repeats  the  ideas  of 
death,  burial,  and  resurrection.  As  Christ  Jesus 
passed  through  these  really,  immersed  believers 
passed  through  them  pictorially  (3,  4) ;  (2)  that 
symbolism  rests  on  a  real  connection  between  His 
death  and  resurrection  and  the  changed  relations  to 
sin  and  death  of  "us,"  i.e.  who  believe  in  Him 
(5,  6,  7) ;  (3)  justification  implies  that  we  in  some 
sense  "died  with  Him";  it  implies  that  we  are 
alive  with  Him  now  and  for  ever  (8-11);  (4)  but 
our  will  is  involved  in  this  new  life,  we  have  an 
active  part  in  it,  and  we  must  let  the  fact  of  our 
deliverance  have  full  sway  over  our  habitual 
volition  (12-14). 

1,  This   challenge   connects   with   v.   20.      The 


2i6   Westminster  New  Testament 

Apostle  could  never  have  considered  this  a  serious 
problem  for  himself.  But  it  was  probably  suggested 
(a)  by  Judaizing  Christians,  or  Jewish  opponents, 
putting  tlie  worst  construction  on  every  phase  of 
his  gospel ;  (b)  by  Gentile  converts,  to  some  of 
whom  the  new  world  of  moral  and  spiritual  con- 
siderations must  have  been  strange  and  confusing. 

2.  God  forbid  (cf.  on  iii.  4).  How  shall  we 
that  are  dead  to  sin.  R.V.,  "We  who  died 
to  sin,  how  shall  we  any  longer  live  therein  ?  "  The 
reference,  as  the  following  verses  show,  is  to  the 
hour  when  the  new  and  justifying  faith  was  ex- 
pressed and  confirmed  in  baptism.  That  event 
marked  the  great  crisis  in  which  a  man  died  to  his 
past  relations  with  sin  and  God,  and  passed  into 
new  relations  with  God  and  life. 

3.  Know  ye  not.  R.V.,  "Or  are  ye  ignorant." 
Jesus  Christ.  R.V.,  "  Christ  Jesus."  This  means 
more  than  baptism  into  the  name  of  Christ  (cf. 
Matt,  xxviii.  19  ;  1  Cor.  i.  13-15,  x.  2),  unless  we 
understand  "the  name"  mystically.  It  means 
that  baptism  was  the  outward  act  through  which 
the  faith  of  the  convert  was  expressed.  It  is  not 
a  substitute  for  faith  in  his  teaching  ;  it  could 
have  no  meaning  or  relevance  without  faith,  as 
the  whole  course  of  argument  in  these  chapters 
abundantly  proves.  Hence  the  symbolic  expression 
of  faith  is  here  used,  by  a  figure  of  speech,  for  the 
thing  symbohzed.  into  his  death.  This  is  the 
first  element  in  the  picture  as  Paul  works  it  out 
with  great  originality  and  force.  As  men  were 
plunged  into  the  water  outwardly,  they  had 
inwardly  entered  into  the  meaning  and  power  of 
Christ's  death. 

4.  Therefore  we  ^re  buried  with  him  by 


Romans  vi.  1-14  217 

baptism  into  death.  R.V.,  ^^We  were  buried 
therefore  with  him  through  baptism  into  death." 
This  is  the  second  element  in  the  picture.  In  that 
"baptism  into  death/'  the  moment  of  submer- 
gence under  the  water  is  taken  as  Uke  unto 
burial,  by  the  glory  of  the  Father.  R.V., 
*^^  through  the  glory."  This  is  the  third  element. 
Rising  out  of  the  waters  is,  however,  taken  for 
granted  and  not  named.  "  The  glory  of  the 
Father"  is  that  outgoing  of  His  power  which 
wrought  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  in  newness 
of  life.  Here  is  the  idea  he  has  been  aiming  at. 
When  the  Christian  believed,  and  when  his  belief 
was  both  expressed  and  sealed  in  the  baptismal 
act,  a  purpose  was  in  view.  The  wonder  of  that 
purpose  is  compared  with  the  glory  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ.  It  is  a  life  whose  quality  is  like 
that  of  a  being  raised  from  the  dead. 

5.  For  if  we  have  been  planted  together 
in  the  likeness  of  his  death.  R.V.,  "  For  if  we 
have  become  united  with  him,"  etc.  (jnargiri, 
"  united  with  the  likeness  of  his  death ").  The 
R.V.  margin  is  the  literal  translation.  It  is  a 
difficult  expression,  but  the  Apostle  means  that  if 
in  baptism,  with  its  imitation  of  Christ's  death, 
our  real  engrafting  on  Christ  is  symbolized,  then, 
no  less  really  than  we  died  with  Him,  shall  we  live 
with  Him.  If  His  death  was  real  to  us,  and  baptism 
is  its  likeness.  His  new  life  shall  be  no  less  real  to 
us,  and  baptism  is  the  likeness  of  the  resurrection. 

6.  Knowing  this.  He  appeals  to  their  Chris- 
tian consciousness,  our  old  man  (cf.  Eph.  iv. 
22-24;  Col.  iii.  9,  10 ;  also  the  phrase,  "a  new 
creation,"  Gal.  vi.  15).  "  One  new  man,"  in  Eph. 
ii.    15,  has    a   different    reference,     is    crucified 


2i8   Westminster  New  Testament 

with  him.    R.V.,  ^'was  crucified"  (cf.  Gal.  ii.   20). 

might   be  destroyed.   R.V.,    ^^  might  be  done 

away."  Same  Greek  word  in  Rom.  iii.  3 ;  Gal. 
iii.  I7j,  V.  4  ;  cf.  Heb.  ii.  14.  There  seems  at  first 
sight  to  be  a  violent  coagulation  of  ideas  in  this 
verse.  The  centre  of  the  thought  is  that  the  "  sin- 
body  "  has  been  reduced  to  impotence  by  the  fact 
that  our  old  life,  in  all  its  aspects,  died  with  Christ. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Apostle  is  not  thinking 
any  longer  of  baptism.  He  is  thinking  directly  of 
the  cross  and  our  interest  in  that,  as  at  Gal.  ii.  20. 
serve  sin.  R.V.,  ^'  be  in  bondage  to  sin."  The 
very  meaning  of  that  experience  of  dying  to  the 
old  life  was  that  our  slavery  should  cease. 

7.  For  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin. 

R.V.,  "for  he  that  hath  died  is  justified  from  sin." 
Most  think  that  Paul  means  that  death  in  general 
ends  all  claims.  The  penalty  is  paid,  and  there  is 
nothing  more  to  be  charged  against  him.  But  it 
is  tempting  to  believe  that  Paul  means,  "  he  that 
hath  so  died,"  i.e.  died  with  Christ,  is  cleared  of 
all  sin.  The  unusual  phrase  "  from  sin  "  (cf.  Acts 
xiii.  39)  has  the  effect  of  emphasis.  Just  because 
justification  deals  decisively  with  sin  we  cannot 
"continue  in  sin"  (ver.  1), 

8,  9.  Now  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ.  R.V., 
"  But  if  we  died  with  Christ."  When  in  the  act  of 
faith  we  left  the  dead  past  behind,  that  very  act  con- 
tained the  assurance  of  living  fellowship  with  Him. 

10.  For  in  that  he  died.  R.V., "  For  the  death 
that  he  died  {inargin,  in  that  he  died)."  once. 
R.V.  margin,  "once  for  all"  (cf.  Heb.  vii.  27, 
ix.  12,  X.  10).  The  Apostle  does  not  explain  how 
Christ  "  died  to  sin  once  for  all."  As  Sin  is 
personified  often  in  this  discussion,  we  may  regard 


Romans  vi.   1-14  219 

this  as  meaning  that  in  death  He  passed  out  of 
the  dominion  where  Sin  rules,  and  in  which  He 
though  sinless  (2  Cor.  v.  21)  had  lived.  He  now 
lives  in  the  dominion  where  God  alone  rules. 

11.  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  R.V., 
"in  Christ  Jesus."  This  verse  summarizes  and 
applies  the  whole  argument.  The  Christian  man 
must  be  reasonable ;  he  must  reckon  with  the 
actual  relations  in  which  justification  by  faith  has 
put  him.  The  act  of  God  has  cut  him  off  from  his 
sinful  past,  and  therefore  from  sin  itself.  That  is  a 
fact  to  be  absorbed  by  each  will  in  its  own  act  of 
habitual  faith.  The  same  act  of  God  has  set  him 
in  new  relations  with  himself  because  he  is  "in 
Christ  Jesus."  Christ  is  now  his  world,  and  in  that 
there  is  nothing  to  live  for  but  only  God.  (On  the 
phrase  "  in  Christ  Jesus/'  see  notes  on  Eph.  i.  1  ; 
Phil.  i.  2  ;  Col.  i.  2 ;  and  the  note  of  Sanday  and 
Headlam,  Roinans,  pp.  158,  159.) 

12-14.  These  three  verses  partly  continue  and 
expand  the  exhortation  of  ver.  11,  and  also  use 
phrases  which  suggest  and  then  pass  over  into  a 
separate  argument  in  the  following  paragraph.  It 
is  not  impossible  that,  having  dictated  the  trium- 
phant words  of  vers.  8-11,  the  impulse  or  echoing 
emphasis  of  the  unusual  phrase  "the  body  of  sin" 
in  ver.  6  recalled  him,  perhaps  with  a  reading  of 
it  by  his  "  writer,"  to  the  relation  of  the  new  life 
to  the  bodily  life.  The  sequence  is  very  striking 
if  we  connect  ver.  1 2  directly  with  vers.  6,  7. 

12.  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts 
thereof.  R.V.,  "  obey  the  lusts  thereof"  We 
must  note  in  this  verse  the  recurrence  of  that  word 
"reign"  (cf.  v.  14,  17,  21).  The  sway  of  this 
king    is    broken.     His    dominion,    our   hearts,   is 


220   Westminster  New  Testament 

invaded  by  "one  mightier  than  he."  It  is  for  the 
will  of  the  justified  man,  now  "alive"  in  God's 
dominion,  to  deal  with  that  tyrant's  power  (cf.  the 
fuller  truth  on  this  in  Rom.  viii.  1  ff.).  the  lustS. 
Lit.,  the  desires  or  passions.  It  is  in  and  through 
these  that  Sin  holds  us  in  subjection. 

13.  For  yield  R.V.  in  both  cases  uses  the 
more  formal  word  "  present."  A  difference  of  tense 
in  the  Greek  expresses  the  idea — "  Do  not  go  on 
presenting,"  but  "in  one  final  act  present."  It  is 
notable  that  in  the  second  part "  present  yourselves 
unto  God "  is  a  necessary  precedent  to  present 
"your  members."  In  the  old  life  the  self  was 
already  yielded  to  Sin.  The  new  outward  life  is 
begun  by  an  inner  act  of  yielding  self.  But  there 
must  be  continuous  exertion  of  will  to  realize 
that  inner  act  in  definite  deeds,  instruments. 
Both  A.V.  and  R.V.  put  the  correct  translation 
"  weapons  "  in  the  margin. 

14.  shall  not  have.  The  future  here  carries  in 
it  a  feeling  both  of  certainty  and  urgency.  And 
here  the  true  close  of  the  paragraph  is  reached 
with  a  return  to  the  opening  question  (ver.  1). 
Just  because  we  are  under  grace,  continuing  in  sin 
is  now  "morally"  impossible. 


Rom.  vi.  15-23. 

5.  SLAVES  TO  LAW  OR  FREEMEN 
THROUGH  GRACE. 

15  What  then?  shall  we  sin,  because  we  are  not  under  the 

16  law,  but  under  grace?  God  forbid.  Know  ye  not,  that 
to  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his  servants 
ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey  ;  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of 


Romans  vi.   15-23  221 

17  obedience  unto  righteousness?  But  God  be  thanked,  that 
ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,  but  ye  have  obeyed  from 
the  heart  that  form  of  doctrine  which  was  delivered  you. 

18  Being  then  made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  the  servants  of 

19  righteousness.  I  speak  after  the  manner  of  men  because 
of  the  infirmity  of  your  flesh  :  for  as  ye  have  yielded  your 
members  servants  to  uncleanness  and  to  iniquity  unto 
iniquity  ;  even  so  now  yield  your  members  servants  toright- 

20  eousness  unto  holiness.     For  when  ye  were  the  servants 

21  of  sin,  ye  were  free  from  righteousness.  What  fruit  had 
ye  then  in  those  things  whereof  ye  are  now  ashamed?  for 

22  the  end  of  those  things  is  death.  But  now  being  made 
free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  to  God,  ye  have  your 

23  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting  life.  For  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death  ;  but  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

The  last  phrases  of  ver.  14  present  a  new  aspect 
of  the  same  fundamental  question.  If  the  motive 
for  ^^  continuing  in  sin  "  stated  in  ver.  1  has  been 
dishonoured_,  does  there  not  arise  this  challenge — 
If  you  are  no  longer  under  Islw,  nothing  can  be 
illegal^  therefore  nothing  can  be  wrong  ?  In  that 
case  the  freedom  of  grace  would  mean  the  freedom 
to  sin.  The  Apostle  here  adopts  a  very  vigorous 
form  of  direct  argument  with  his  readers.  Much 
light  is  thrown  on  the  nature  of  the  argument  by 
the  fact  that  the  Apostle's  deepest  assumption  all 
through,  the  major  premise  from  which  all  his 
deductions  start,  is  the  absolute  and  unquestionable 
holiness  and  righteousness  of  God.  That  he  will  not 
for  a  moment  consent  to  argue.  It  is  the  silent  lord 
of  all  his  thought.  (1)  First,  the  argument  pre- 
supposes that  we  must  be  slaves  of  some  power 
greater  than  ourselves  (ver.  l6).  (2)  The  Apostle 
rejoices  over  the  fact  that  his  readers  have  actually 


222    Westminster  New  Testament 

passed  from  the  one  form  of  servitude  (to  Sin)  into 
another  (to  God)  and  repeats  the  exhortation  of 
ver.  13  (vers.  17-19).  (3)  Lastly,  he  turns  to  urge 
the  diverse  consequences  of  the  two  forms  of 
servitude,  the  end  of  one  being  death  and  of  the 
other  eternal  life  (vers.  20-23). 

15.  God  forbid.  Grace,  not  law,  rules  us,  but 
the  end  of  grace  is  the  opposite  of  sin.  "  It  is 
not  restraint,  but  inspiration,  which  liberates  from 
sin !  Not  Mount  Sinai,  but  Mount  Calvary,  which 
makes  saints"  (Denney  on  Ro7n.  vi.  14). 

i6.  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye  yield 
yourselves  servants  to  obey.   R.V.,  "to  whom 

ye  present  yourselves  as  servants  (^margin,  bond- 
servants) unto  obedience."  We  must  choose  our 
master  and  we  must  obey  the  master  whom  we 
choose  (cf.  Matt.  vi.  24 ;  John  ii.  34  ;  2  Pet. 
ii.  19). 

17.  In  thanking  God  that  the  Roman  Christians 
had  ceased  to  be  servants  of  sin,  when  they  con- 
fessed their  Christian  faith,  he  emphasizes  the  unity 
of  that  form  of  doctrine  (R.V.  margin,  "  pattern 
of  teaching  ")  which  they  had  obeyed  from  the 
heart  with  his  own.  The  fundamental  truths 
of  the  gospel  were  common  to  all  the  apostles, 
though  disputes    arose   regarding    the    relation  of 

these  to  "the  law."  which  was  delivered 
you.  R. v.,  "whereunto  ye  were  delivered."  This 
teaching  with  its  moral  issues  was  a  power.  When 
it  was  delivered  to  men  and  accepted,  they  felt 
themselves  delivered  over  into  its  influence,  as  a 
living  force. 

19.  after  the  manner  of  men  (cf.  Gal.  iii.  15). 
He  apologizes  for  the  form  of  his  argument. 
Because  he  fears    they  may  not  grasp  the  great 


Romans  vi.   15-23  223 

truths,  through  the  confusions  arising  from  "  the 
flesh/'  the  seat  of  sin,  therefore  he  is  using  these 
abstract  terms  as  concrete,  personifying  sin  and  even 
righteousness  (ver.  18)  iniquity  unto  iniquity, 
— i.e.  ever  -  increasing  iniquity  or  lawlessness. 
righteousness  unto  sanctification.  Righteous- 
ness is  here  again  personified  as  at  ver.  18,  and  as 
uncleanness  and  iniquity  are  personified,  sancti- 
fication.  Paul  uses  this  term  eight  times,  and 
in  no  instance  is  it  clearly  applied  to  the  process 
of  sanctification,  or  "progressive  consecration,"  as 
Sanday  and  Headlam  have  it  {Romans,  p.  l67). 
Three  times  besides  here  it  is  opposed  to  "unclean- 
ness" (1  Thess.  iv.  3,  4,  7).  Once  w^ith  faith  and 
love  as  subjective  qualities  (1  Tim.  ii.  15),  once 
with  "wisdom,"  "righteousness,"  and  "redemp- 
tion" as  objective  gifts  of  God  in  Christ.  Once 
the  phrase  is  "in  sanctification  of  spirit"  (2  Thess. 
ii.  13  ;  cf.  1  Pet.  i.  2).  Here  it  must  mean  that 
personal  quality  of  pureness  in  motive  and  life 
which  flows  from  service  of  God. 

20.  The  converse  of  ver.  18. 

21.  then.  Pt.V.,  "  at  that  time."  An  appeal  to 
their  experience.  They  know  that  when  their 
conversion  took  place,  shame  for  their  past  lives 
seized  them.  (It  is  an  instructive  fact  that  in 
missionary  lands  to-day  the  same  "shame"  often 
seizes  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  been  living 
"  without  law  "  or  sense  of  sin,  when  they  came 
under  the  power  of  Christ.  They  bitterly  condemn 
their  own  past.) 

22.  23.  death  and  eternal  life  are  the  two 
"ends"  of  the  respective  forms  of  service.  But 
a  deep  and  significant  distinction  lies  here  :  in  that 
death  is  like   the  wages  paid  to  a  soldier  whose 


224   Westminster  New  Testament 

very  members  have  been  weapons  (ver.  13)  in  the 
service  of  Sin,  while  "  eternal  life  "  descends  as  a 
gift  from  heaven,  free  and  worthy  of  God,  and 
bestowed  once  for  all  upon  all  "  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord  "  (R.V.). 

Rom.  vii.  i-6. 

6.  ILLUSTRATION  FROM  THE  LAW  OF 
MARRIAGE. 

1  Know  ye  not,  brethren,  (for  I  speak  to  them  that  know  the 
law,)  how  that  the  law  hath  dominion  over  a  man  as  long 

2  as  he  liveth?  For  the  woman  which  hath  a  husband  is 
bound  by  the  law  to  her  husband  so  long  as  he  liveth  ;  but 
if  the  husband  be  dead,  she  is  loosed  from  the  law  of  her 

3  husband.  So  then  if,  while  her  husband  liveth,  she  be 
married  to  another  man,  she  shall  be  called  an  adulteress  : 
but  if  her  husband  be  dead,  she  is  free  from  that  law  ;  so 
that  she  is  no  adulteress,  though  she  be  married  to  another 

4  man.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  are  become  dead 
to  the  law  by  the  body  of  Christ ;  that  ye  should  be 
married  to  another,  even  to  him  who  is  raised  from  the 

5  dead,  that  we  should  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  For 
when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the  motions  of  sins,  which  were 
by  the  law,  did  work  in  our  members  to  bring  forth  fruit 

6  unto  death.  But  now  we  are  delivered  from  the  law,  that 
being  dead  wherein  we  were  held  ;  that  we  should  serve 
in  newness  of  spirit,  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter. 

The  Apostle  turns  to  another  analogy  to  illustrate 
the  deliverance  from  the  grasp  of  the  law  and  the 
freedom  to  serve  God  which  has  been  wrought  upon 
the  Christian  through  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Christ.  Analogies  are  notoriously  difficult  to  carry 
out  in  detail,  and  this  one  only  applies  in  part. 
One  obscurity  arises  because  the  word  "  law "  is 


Romans  vii.  i-6  225 

used  both  for  the  law  of  marriage  (ver.  2)  and  for 
"  the  law"  of  Moses  in  general  (ver.  5).  Another  is 
caused  by  the  fact  that  the  wife  is  compared  to  the 
believer ;  yet  in  the  one  case  the  husband  dies  and 
the  wife  is  free,  while  in  the  other  case  the  believer 
has  died  and  is  united  "  to  another "  in  freedom. 
Moreover,  the  Apostle  leaves  it  uncertain  to  whom 
the  believer  was  united  before  his  death  (ver.  4) 
until  in  ver.  5  he  names  "^  the  sinful  passions  "  as 
the  power  to  which  he  was  bound,  under  or 
"through"  the  law.  (1)  In  the  first  verse  the 
general  principle  is  stated  as  one  familiar  to  all 
who  know  the  law  (R.  V.  margin,  "  that  know  law  "), 
that  death  cancels  the  claims  of  the  law  upon 
a  man.  (2)  Then  the  illustration  is  given  from 
marriage  law,  according  to  which  a  woman  is  bound 
to  faithfulness  to  her  husband  until  death.  When 
her  husband  dies  she  is  free  to  marry  another 
(vers.  2,  3).  (3)  So  with  Christians.  Their  relation 
to  a  past  dominion  was  broken,  and  "the  law"  which 
held  over  them  in  those  relations  lost  its  authority 
when,  by  union  with  His  death,  they  became  united 
with  the  Risen  One.  This  union  brings  forth  as 
its  issue  "  fruit "  that  belongs  to,  and  is  worthy  of, 
God.  Hitherto  "  sinful  passions  "  had  ruled  them, 
so  weak  and  erring  "in  the  flesh,"  "through  the 
law,"  and  from  that  union  there  sprang  fruit  "  unto 
death"  (vers.  4,  5).  (4)  Our  bond  with  the  law 
has  been  cancelled,  since  we  "died  with  Christ" 
and  passed  out  of  the  grasp  of  that  which  held  us 
down.  We  are  now  free  to  serve  God  in  and  through 
a  new  spirit,  and  not  in  and  through  the  literal 
prescriptions  of  an  outworn  "  law  "  (ver.  6). 

1.  Know  ye  not,  brethren.   R.V.,  "  Or  are  ye 
ignorant,  brethren."    as  long  aS  he  Hveth.    R.V., 

15 


226   Westminster  New  Testament 

"  for  so  long  a  time  as  he  liveth."  The  argument 
is  to  be  based  on  a  principle  recognized  by  all  who 
know  what  law  is. 

2.  by  the  law.  R.V.,  "  by  law."  The  reference 
is  not  to  the  moral  law,  but  to  law  in  general. 
Throughout  civilization  this  principle  was  in  some 
measure  recognized,  in  however  poor  and  one-sided 
a  way  it  may  have  been  applied,  she  is  loosed 
from  the  law  of  the  husband.  R.V.,  "she  is 
discharged."  Sanday  and  Headlam  hold  this  to  be 
a  technical  use  of  the  term  "The  Law  of  the 
Husband/'  as  being  a  chapter  or  section  of  a  code 
of  laws. 

3.  free  from  the  law, — that  is,  the  restriction 
of  that  particular  law  ceases  to  apply  to  her  case. 

4.  become  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body  of 
Christ.  R.V.,  "  made  dead  to  the  law  through  the 
body  of  Christ."  The  reference  is  to  the  atoning 
death  of  Christ  with  which  at  his  baptism  the 
believer  became  united  (vi.  3-6).  The  language 
here  might  imply  that  "  the  law  "  is  to  the  believer 
as  husband  to  wife.  But  this  is  prevented  by  the 
language  of  vers.  5,  6.  And  yet  it  can  hardly  be 
that  "  the  law  "  here  means,  as  in  ver.  3,  the  law 
of  the  union.  It  is  better  to  leave  the  point,  as 
the  Apostle  did,  indistinct,  that  ye  should  be 
married  to  another.  R.V.,  "that  ye  should  be 
joined  to  another."  The  words  mean  simply  that  ye 
should  come  under  obligation  to  another,  who  is 
raised.  R.  V.,  "  who  was  raised."  Throughout  these 
chapters  the  point  is  never  lost  sight  of,  that  the 
new  relations  in  which  men  are  placed  by  union  with 
Christ  through  faith  are  living  relations  which  issue 
in  a  new  activity  of  life.  The  end  of  that  loosing 
from  the  law  and  freedom  is  "  fruit  unto  God." 


Romans  vii.  7-13  227 

5.  the  motions  of  sins.  R.V.,  "the  sinful 
passions  (jnargin,  passions  of  sins)."  Here  the 
Apostle  seems  to  name  the  power  to  which  we 
were  before  united,  as  wife  to  husband.  These 
passions  became  our  master  "through"  the  law; 
they  did  work  (R.V.,  "  wrought ")  in  our  members, 
and  the  tyrant,  Death,  garnered  the  fruit. 

6.  But  now  .  .  .  were  held.  R.V.  is  clearer — 
"  But  now  we  have  been  discharged  from  the  law, 
having  died  to  that  wherein  we  were  holden." 
Death  has  cut  the  bond  between  us  and  the  power 
which  held  us  down,  and  we  are  free  from  the  law 
under  and  through  which  the  bond  was  formed. 
spirit,  letter  (cf.  Rom.  ii.  27,  29 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  6-8). 


Rom.  vii.  7-25. 

7.  THE  MASTERY  OF  SIN  AND  THE  MEANING 
OF  THE  LAW. 

In  this  section  the  Apostle  is  driven  to  a  still 
deeper  consideration  of  the  grasp  of  sin  upon 
human  nature  and  the  function  exercised  by  law 
in  the  Divine  dealings  with  sinful  man.  It  is  best 
taken  in  two  stages,  the  first  of  which  defends  the 
sanctity  of  the  law,  as  an  expression  of  God's  will 
(vers.  7-13),  while  the  second  expounds  the  inner 
conflict  which  is  set  up  wherever  in  human  ex- 
perience the  holy  law  is  known  and  the  frightful 
force  of  inward  antagonism  to  it  is  experienced 
(vers.  14-25). 

(a)  The  function  of  law  (vers.  7-13). 

7  What  shall  we  say  then?     Is  the  law  sin?     God  forbid. 
Nay,  I  had  not  known  sin,  but  by  the  law :  for  I  had  not 


228   Westminster  New  Testament 

known  lust,  except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shalt  not  covet. 

8  But  sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  wrought  in 
me  all  manner  of  concupiscence.     For  without  the  law  sin 

9  was   dead.     For  I  was  alive  without  the  law  once  :   but 
when  the  commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died. 

10  And   the   commandment,  which  was   ordained   to   life,  I 

1 1  found  to  be  unto  death.     For  sin,  taking  occasion  by  the 

12  commandment,  deceived  me,  and  by  it  slew  me.  Where- 
fore the  law  is  holy,  and  the  commandment  holy,  and  just, 

13  and  good.  Was  then  that  which  is  good  made  death  unto 
me  ?  God  forbid.  But  sin,  that  it  might  appear  sin, 
working  death  in  me  by  that  which  is  good  ;  that  sin  by 
the  commandment  might  become  exceeding  sinful. 

Throughout  these  verses  we  must  watch  the 
subtle  dramatizing  of  the  idea  of  Sin.  (l)  At  first 
I  was  ignorant  aUke  of  sin  and  of  law.  But  when 
the  prohibitive  commandment  "Thou  shalt  not" 
reached  me,  a  thousand  evil  desires  awoke  in  me 
(7,  8).  (2)  For  Sin  was  dead,  and  I  lived  un- 
conscious of  facts,  until  that  commandment  came. 
Then  Sin  sprang  to  life,  and  I  was  dead,  killed, 
it  would  seem,  by  the  very  commandment  whose 
purpose  was  life.  For  Sin  used  it  as  a  weapon 
against  me,  deceived  me  by  its  means,  and  brought 
death  upon  me  (9-1 1).  It  is  evident  then  that  Sin, 
by  using  the  commandment  in  all  its  purity  and 
beneficent  intent  to  work  out  my  death,  stood 
revealed  in  all  its  own  aggravated  shame.  And 
that  was  God's  plan  in  the  whole  matter  of  the 
law  (12,  13). 

7.  Is  the  law  sin?  This  startling  question 
arises  from  such  statements  as  are  made  above  in 
vers.  5,  6.  The  dialectic  created  by  the  experience 
of  law  and  grace  is  subtle  and  relentless.  Luther 
says  somewhere  that  even  the  man  who  is  long 


Romans  vii.  7-13  229 

schooled  in  grace  will  find  the  old  puzzle  about  the 
law  recurring  to  baffle  him.  but  by  the  law. 
R.V.,  "  except  through  the  law  (inargin,  through 
law)."  The  Apostle  seems  to  refer  to  the  general 
fact  of  law.  Sin  is  discovered  when  a  man  is 
confronted  with  Law.  lust  {piargin,  concupis- 
cence). R.V.,  '^coveting  {margin,  lust)."  Thou 
Shalt  not  covet.  R.V.  margin,  "lust"  (Exod. 
XX.  17).  The  word  so  translated  means  wrong 
desire  of  any  kind.  The  Apostle  says  he  had 
not  "  known "  sin,  meaning  that  he  had  not 
realized  it,  or  felt  and  seen  its  reality,  unless 
"law"  had  been  established.  But,  using  a 
different  Greek  word,  he  had  not  "known"  that 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  evil  or  forbidden  desire 
unless  a  specific  command  against  that  had  existed 
(cf.  iii.  20). 

8.  But  sin  .  .  .  concupiscence.  R.V.,  "but 
sin,  finding  occasion,  wrought  in  me  through  the 
commandment  all  manner  of  coveting  {jnargin, 
lust)."  How  sin  finds  occasion,  what  base  of 
operations  it  uses,  is  not  named  either  here  or  in 
ver.  11, — probably  it  is  "the  flesh"  (cf.  ver.  5, 
viii.  3).    For  without  the  law  sin  was  dead. 

R.V.,  "for  apart  from  the  law  (inargin,  law)  sin  is 
dead"  (cf.  iv.  15,  v.  13). 

9.  For  I  was  alive  without  the  law  once. 

R.V.,  "  And  I  was  alive  apart  from  the  law  {margin, 
law)  once."  Whether  this  means  in  his  own 
childhood,  or  whether  he  is  writing  ideally  of  the 
childhood  of  mankind,  is  much  disputed.  It  does 
not  matter  much.  The  Apostle  is  writing  imagin- 
atively of  a  real  experience,  which  was  not  peculiar 

to  himself,  sin  revived,  and  I  died.  A  bold  and 
striking  metaphor.     How  often  does  a  man  die  in 


230   Westminster  New  Testament 

Paul's    view?     (1)   When    sin    revives,   as    here; 

(2)  when  physical  death  comes  (Phil.  i.  20,  21); 

(3)  when  the  whole  doom  of  sin  descends  (Rom. 
V.  12;  (4)  when  he  dies  on  the  cross  with  Christ 
(Gal.  ii.  20) ;  (5)  when  he  dies  in  baptism  (Rom. 
vi.  4>,  8).  How  free  and  masterful  is  his  mind  and 
his  use  of  the  greatest  facts  and  ideas  of  our 
human  experience ! 

11.  This  verse  is  almost  a  repetition  of  ver.  8,  as 
if  he  had  turned  aside  in  8*^-10  and  was  drawn 
back  by  the  echo  of  the  half-military  phrase 
translated  as  taking  (R.V.,  "finding")  occasion, 
or  "  using  as  a  base."  deceived  me.  R.V.,  "  be- 
guiled me."  Sin  used  the  commandment  as  a 
weapon,  as  the  serpent  did  with  Eve  (Gen.  iii.  13  ; 
2  Cor.  xi.  3).  It  is  a  familiar  psychological  fact 
that  attention  fastened  on  a  prohibitive  command 
tends  always  to  stimulate  temptation  and  hasten 
the  very  sin  which  the  commandment  condemns. 

12.  This  is  the  answer  to  the  question  in  ver.  7. 
the  law  is  the  general  body  of  the  Divine 
statutes,  and  that  is  "  holy."  The  commandment 
is  the  individual  rule  or  statute,  and  it  is  said  to  be 
holy,  as  proceeding  from  the  pure  will  of  God, 
just  (R.V.,  "righteous"),  as  prescribing  right 
relations  and  conduct,  and  gOOd,  as  producing 
blessed  results  in  human  experience. 

13.  R.V.  gives  a  laboured  but  more  accurate 
rendering  of  this  grammatically  difficult  verse :  "  Did 
then  that  which  is  good  become  death  unto  me  ? 
God  forbid.  But  sin,  that  it  might  be  shewn  to  be 
sin,  by  working  death  to  me  through  that  which  is 
good  : — that  through  the  commandment  sin  might 
become  exceeding  sinful."  The  structure  is  clear 
if  we  insert   omitted    words   and   read,  "But  sin 


Romans  vii.  14-25  231 

became  death  to  me^  that  it  might  be  shewn/'  etc. 
That  is,  the  hideousness  of  sin,  its  superabundant 
sinfulness,  stands  glaringly  revealed,  first,  because 
it  produces  death,  second,  because  it  uses  so  pure 
and  holy  a  thing  as  the  commandment  of  God  to 
do  its  fell  work. 


(6)  The  hopeless  war  and  the  deliverance  (vii.  14-25). 

14  For  we  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual :  but  I  am  carnal, 

15  sold  under  sin.  For  that  which  I  do,  I  allow  not :  for 
what  I  would,  that  do  I  not ;  but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I. 

16  If  then  I  do  that  which  I  would  not,  I  consent  unto  the 

17  law  that  it  is  good.     Now  then  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it, 

18  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  For  I  know  that  in  me  (that 
is,  in  my  flesh,)  dwelleth  no  good  thing:  for  to  will  is 
present  with  me ;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good  I 

19  find  not.     For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do  not :  but  the 

20  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  Now,  if  I  do  that  I 
would  not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth 

21  in  me.     I  find  then  a  law,  that,  when  I  would  do  good, 

22  evil  is  present  with  me.     For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God 

23  after  the  inward  man  :  but  I  see  another  law  in  my 
members,  warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bring- 
ing me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my 

24  members.     O  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver 

25  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  I  thank  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  So  then  with  the  mind  I  myself 
serve  the  law  of  God  ;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin. 

This  passage  consists  of  a  penetrating  analysis  of 
the  consciousness  of  sin  and  the  struggle  against 
sin,  of  the  inner  self  in  moral  conflict  with  itself. 
(1)  Beginning  with  the  fact  of  our  twofold  nature, 
he  asserts  that  the  law  which  each  self  recognizes 
is  "  spiritual,"  and  is  good,  while  the  self  that  acts 


232   Westminster  New  Testament 

contrary  to  the  law  feels  itself  like  a  slave  in  the 
grasp  of  an  alien  force  (14,  15).  (2)  There  is  then,  in 
a  deep  sense,  a  double  Self — one  which  recognizes, 
approves,  and  wills  the  good,  and  one  which  persists 
in  doing  the  evil,  the  fleshly  self  in  which  no  good 
is  found.  I  do  the  wrong  and  yet  I  attribute  it  to 
"sin  which  dwelleth  in  me"  (16-20).  (3)  There 
seems  to  be  a  law  beneath  law  in  our  life.  For  in 
spite  of  our  approval  of  the  law  of  God,  the  law  of 
sin  is  triumphant  over  us  and  in  us,  as  if  some 
necessity  ruled  over  the  conflict  of  these  two  and 
gave  victory  always  to  the  rule  we  hate  (21-23). 
(4)  The  outcry  for  deliverance  has  been  met  by  God 
gloriously  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  (24,  25). 

14.  spiritual.  In  l  Cor.  xii.  1  ff.  the  Apostle 
discusses  "  spiritual  things,"  i.e.  things  which  come 
from  the  Spirit  of  God  (cf  1  Cor.  x.  3,  4).  The 
law  is  from  the  Divine  Spirit,  carnal.  Lit., 
"  made  of  flesh  "  (Greek,  sarkinos).  Paul's  use  of  the 
term  "  the  flesh  "  is  varied.  He  never  speaks  of  it 
like  the  Gnostics  as  inherently  an  evil  thing.  But 
it  is  weak  and  degraded,  and  has  been  made  the 
instrument  of  evil  passions  (ver.  5)  by  the  power 
of  Sin,  into  whose  hands  we  have  passed  as 
slaves. 

15.  I  do.  Lit.,  "I  work  out,  or  accomplish." 
I  know  not, — ie.  I  do  not  recognize  what  I  am 
bringing  to  pass.  I  am  a  slave  and  my  deeds  are 
not  mine,  and  their  meaning  is  lost  to  me.  for 
what  I  would,  that  do  I  not.  R.V.,  "for  not 
what  I  would  that  do  I  practise."  My  heart  is  not 
in  my  conduct,  that  do  I.  As  if  to  say,  "The 
thing  I  hate  I  make."  Three  diiferent  Greek 
words  for  action  occur  in  this  verse. 

16.  R.V.,  "if  what  I  would  not  that  I  do."     His 


Romans  vii.  14-25  233 

inner   will    or   wish    really   values    the    beauty  or 
nobility  of  the  law. 

17.  Now  then.  R.V., ''  So  then."  The  strange 
and  awful  division  of  soul  leads  a  man  to  say  ^'  I, 
yet  not  I."  But  this  must  not  become  an  excuse 
for  guilt.  "  A  true  saint  may  say  it  in  a  moment 
of  passion,  but  a  sinner  had  better  not  make  it  a 
principle"  (Denney,  in  loc.y 

18.  in  me  (that  is,  in  my  flesh).  How  the 
Self  is,  as  it  were,  divided  and  multiplied  in  this 
passage !  It  is  true  to  the  experience  of  all  who 
have  fought  with  sin.  ''  In  me,  in  my  flesh,  the 
good  has  no  home  !  "  The  Self  looks  at  its  lower 
self,  sees  it  seated  in  the  passions  of  flesh,  and 
condemns  it — no  fair  thing  is  houseled  there,  to 
will  is  present.  Good  wishes  are  easy — the 
resolutions  that  rise  and  fall  on  waves  of  emotion  ; 
but  the  power  to  work  them  out  or  accomplish 
them — a  man  seeks  far  and  near  in  vain  for  that. 

19.  The  concrete  restatement  of  ver.  15. 

20.  If  my  act  is  against  my  wish,  who  or  what 
wrought  it  out }  Not  I,  but  Sin,  the  Apostle  says, 
which  has  made  its  home  in  me. 

21.  I  find  .  .  .  with  me.  R.V.,  "I  find  the 
law  (juargin,  in  regard  of  the  law),  that,  to  me  who 
would  do  good,  evil  is  present."  A  difficult  verse 
to  translate.  R.V.  unfortunately  loses  the  pathetic 
force  of  the  double  use  of  "  me  "  in  the  Greek — 
"  to  me  wishing  to  do  the  right,  to  me  the  bad  is 
at  hand."  "  Law "  here  means  either  the  law 
imposed  by  sin  (ver.  23,  "^  the  law  of  sin  ")  ;  or,  the 
law  (or  necessity)  of  the  divided  self  under  which 
the  right  will  is  always  beaten  down  by  that  evil 
force  seated  in  the  flesh,  through  which  alone  action 
takes  place. 


234   Westminster  New  Testament 

22.  the  inward  man  (cf.  Eph.  hi.  i6).  The 
inner  or  spiritual  self  by  which  the  law  of  God  is 
apprehended  and  approved  of  (cf.  v.  1 4). 

23.  another  law.  R.V.,  ^^ a  different  law."  It 
is  not  merely  one  more  law,  but  a  law  of  another 
kind,  whose  presence  and  power,  enforced  as  on  a 
captive  by  Sin,  is  discovered  in  our  bodily  members 
(cf.  vi.  19  ff.)*  Note  the  three  different  uses  of  the 
word  "  law  "  in  this  one  verse,  of  my  mind  (cf. 
i.  28).     The  mind  is  the  inward  man. 

24.  "  O  wretched  creature  am  I !  "  The  outcry 
of  helpless  misery,  the  body  of  this  death.  A 
phrase  of  indignation  and  horror.  The  body  in 
which  the  mind  and  inner  man  is  imprisoned  is 
the  dwelling-place  not  only  of  sin  but  of  death. 

25.  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  As  it 
is  from  Him  deliverance  has  come  as  God's  gift,  so 
through  Him  our  thanksgiving  goes  back  to  the 
heart  of  God,  the  Fountain  of  this  so  great  and 
marvellous  act  of  salvation,  so  then.  The  outcry 
of  ver.  24  and  the  thanksgiving  for  deliverance  are 
parenthetical,  the  heart  breaking  through  the 
movement  of  reason.  Here  the  conclusion  of  the 
whole  argument  is  given,  closely  connected  with 
ver.  23.     We  are  left  with  the  divided  self. 

Note  on  vii.  7-24. 

Much  discussion  has  arisen  as  to  whether  this 
passage  describes  the  experience  of  Paul  before  or 
after  his  experience  of  Christ,  or  both  ;  whether,  in 
other  words,  it  is  the  picture  of  an  unregenerate  or 
a  regenerate  man's  experience,  or  whether  it  begins 
with  the  one  and  passes  over  into  the  other.  It  is 
possible  to  argue  that  the  sense  of  the  divided  self 


Romans  vii.  14-25  235 

and  the  continuous  defeat  of  the  higher  by  the 
lower  self,  which  is  here  so  harrowingly  described, 
can  only  be  true  for  the  man  who  is  not  born 
again,  and  for  whom  the  dominion  of  sin  has  not 
been  broken  by  the  power  and  grace  of  God  in 
Jesus  Christ.  On  the  other  hand,  it  can  be  urged 
that  the  man  who  has  had  no  taste  of  the  Divine 
grace  can  hardly  say  that  for  him  the  law  is  good, 
that  he  wishes  to  perform  it,  that  he  delights  in  it 
as  the  law  of  God.  The  very  fact  that  he  fights  is 
proof  that  a  higher  force  than  sin  is  at  work 
within  him,  however  hard  the  battle  goes.  Is  it 
not  better  to  read  the  passage  as  one  which  refuses 
to  be  set  forth  in  this  way  as  a  definite  succession 
of  experiences  at  all  ?  Who  remembers  when  he 
was  alive  without  law  ?  What  Christian,  however 
saintly,  can  claim  that  the  war  has  ceased,  and  that 
his  ripened  experience  is  that  of  a  smooth  control 
of  all  the  higher  over  all  the  lower  impulses  of  his 
nature  ?  Only  a  Christian  man  could  have  written 
the  passage  as  a  whole,  but  in  it  he,  as  it  were, 
abstracts  from  the  power  of  Christ,  while  he  con- 
siders the  struggle  of  the  soul  with  itself.  It  is 
true  to  human  nature.  Something  of  this  fight  is 
manifest  in  much  non-Christian  literature.  The 
writings  of  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Epictetus  imply 
it.  Wherever  noble  ideals  have  been  in  contest 
with  selfish  proclivities  the  inward  man  has  been 
a  battlefield.  But  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ  has 
done  two  things :  it  has  made  the  conflict  deeper, 
and  it  has  assured  the  victory  to  the  higher  self 
wherever  a  man  puts  his  trust  in  Him.  It  is  this 
double  effect  of  Christ's  power  which  casts  an 
apparent  confusion  over  the  question  whether  this 
chapter   describes    the    regenerate    or   the   unre- 


236   Westminster  New  Testament 

generate  man.     The  regenerate  man  is  just  he  in 
whom  the  warfare  is  reaUzed — and  the  victory. 


Rom.  viii.  1-39. 

8.  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  IN  THE  LIFE  OF 
THE  JUSTIFIED  MAN. 

The  Apostle  probably  paused  at  the  end  of 
chap,  vii.,  reconsidered  the  course  of  his  argument, 
and  began  this  chapter  with  the  thought  and 
language  of  chap.  v.  echoing  most  powerfully  in 
his  mind.  Of  course  the  substance  of  the  inter- 
vening paragraphs  in  which  he  met  current  diffi- 
culties about  the  law  is  in  his  mind.  Many  words 
and  thoughts  recur  from  them  in  this  chapter. 
But  in  its  form  and  its  course  of  thought  it 
connects  with  and  crowns  the  argument  of  chap.  v. 
The  chapter  can  be  divided  into  longer  and  shorter 
sections  according  to  convenience.  (1)  The  spirit 
of  freedom  and  life  (vers.  1-11);  (2)  the  spirit  of 
sonship  (vers.  12-17);  (3)  the  universal  and  the 
Christian  hope  (vers.  18-25);  (4)  further  grounds 
of  confidence  (vers.  26-30) ;  (5)  the  assurance  of 
faith  (vers.  31-39). 

(i)  The  spirit  of  freedom  and  life  (viii.  i-ii). 

1  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are 
in  Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 

2  Spirit.     For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 

3  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  For  what 
the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh, 
God  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh, 

4  and  for  sin,   condemned  sin  in  the  flesh  :    that  the  right- 


Romans  viii.  i-ii  237 

eousness  of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not 

5  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.     For  they  that  are  after 
the  flesh  do  mind  the  things  of  the  flesh  ;  but  they  that  are 

6  after  the  Spirit,  the  things  of  the  Spirit.    For  to  be  carnally 
minded  is  death  ;  but  to  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and 

7  peace.     Because  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God  : 
for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can 

8  be.     So  then  they  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God. 

9  But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.     Now  if  any  man  have  not 

10  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his.  And  if  Christ  be  in 
you,  the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin  ;  but  the  Spirit  is  life 

11  because  of  righteousness.  But  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that 
raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  you,  he  that  raised 
up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal 
bodies  by  his  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you. 

Condemnation  is  past,  justification  is  the  ex- 
perienced fact  (ver.  1).  But  the  state  of  justifica- 
tion implies  the  presence  of  a  new  force  in  the 
personal  life,  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus 
(ver.  9),  of  God  (vers.  9,  H),  of  Christ  (ver.  9),  Christ 
Himself  (ver.  10).  For  the  purpose  of  God  in 
sending  "  His  own  Son "  was  that  a  Divine  force 
should  enter  into  the  warfare  which  was  set  up  by 
the  action  of  the  law  (vers.  S,  4).  That  force 
works  in  the  "mind"  and  overcomes  the  energy 
of  the  "flesh"  (vers.  5-9).  The  union  with  Christ 
which  the  Spirit  creates  results  in  this  that  "  life  " 
now  works  in  us.  And  not  only  in  our  moral 
nature,  for  in  our  own  physical  nature  its  effect 
will  be  to  perfect  us  with  the  victory  over  death 
after  the  pattern  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
Himself  (vers.  10,  11). 

1.  There  is  therefore  now.  This  conclusion 
is  not  drawn  from  vii.  24,  25,  but  from  the  whole 


238   Westminster  New  Testament 

position  described  in  chaps,  iii.  21-vii.  25,  with, 
however,  special  reference  to  the  positive  exposi- 
tion of  chap.  V.  no  condemnation.  The  latter 
half  of  chap.  v.  dealt  with  the  fact  that  "con- 
demnation" rests  on  all  men,  but  grace  has 
brought  justification  through  Christ.  "  Condemna- 
tion "  is  indeed  the  finding  of  guilt,  but  it  is  an  ex- 
pression of  the  Divine  will.  For  in  God  judgment 
and  action  are  perfectly  united,  in  Christ  JesUS. 
Through  faith  men  are  inwardly  united  with  Christ. 
(See  note  on  vi.  11.)  who  walk  .  .  .  the  Spirit. 
Rightly  omitted  by  R.V.  (see  ver.  4). 

2.  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  oflife  in  Christ 
Jesus.  In  V.  14,  21  he  spoke  of  death  and  sin  as 
ruling  over  men.  He  also  asserted  that  grace  had 
begun  to  reign  through  righteousness  unto  eternal 
life  (cf.  vi.  23,  vii.  6).  He  now  calls  our  new 
ruling  power  the  Spirit  of  life,  which  has  set  us 
free  from  the  tyranny  of  sin  and  death.  Another 
bold  use  of  the  word  "  law  "  appears  in  this  phrase. 
As  in  vii.  23,  it  is  personified.  It  is  not  quite  the 
modern  scientific  idea  of  law,  yet  it  is  not  merely 
statute  law,  that  is  in  his  thought.  It  is  more  like 
our  modern  idea  of  a  force  working  according  to  its 
own  character.  And  yet  that  character  of  the  Spirit 
of  life  is  "  the  law  of  God  "  (vii.  22)  and  "  the  law  of 
my  mind  "  (vii.  23).  hath  made  me  free.  R.V., 
"made  me  free"  (cf.  v.  21,  vi.  22,  vii.  8,  23,  24). 

3.  For  what  the  law  could  not  do.  The 
grammar  of  this  sentence  is  broken  and  the  exact 
construction  much  in  dispute  among  scholars. 
"The  thing  that  was  impossible  for  the  law,"  namely, 
the  effective  rebuke  and  destruction  of  sin,  God 
has  accomplished  otherwise,  in  that.  R.V.  margin, 
"wherein."     The  latter  is  the  correct  translation. 


Romans  viii.  i-ii  239 

The  Apostle  tells  in  what  the  failure  of  the  law 
consisted — the  flesh,  as  the  seat  of  sin,  was  too 
powerful  for  it,  as  chap.  vii.  7  ff.  has  shown,  his 
own  Son  (cf.  viii.  32,  and  the  phrase  "  the  Son 
of  His  love/'  Col.  i.  13).  Undoubtedly  the  Apostle 
is  in  these  passages  thinking  of  the  Son  of  God  as 
living  in  and  with  God  before  His  incarnation,  as 
having  been  ^^  sent "  to  live  under  the  conditions 
of  human  nature,  as  having  been  offered  up  a 
sacrifice  "for  sin."  The  pre-existence  of  Christ 
was  no  empty  thought  for  Paul.  It  was  for  his 
faith  a  fact  so  full  of  content  that  the  Divine 
meaning  of  His  death  was  derived  from  it.  A  will, 
a  love,  a  holy  self  of  Divine  glory  from  above  time 
appeared  in  time  for  this  great  end.  the  likeness 
of  sinful  flesh.  For  the  infrequent  word  "like- 
ness," cf  i.  23,  v.  14,  vi.  5.  Men  under  law  have 
sinned  "after  the  likeness  of  Adam's  transgression." 
The  Son  came  in  "  the  likeness  of  the  flesh  of  sin  " 
(R.V.  margin).  This  is  Paul's  way  of  saying  that 
He  became  like  us  and  yet  avoiding  the  thought 
that  He  actually  sinned.  He  lived  in  the  flesh, 
under  the  conditions  in  which  we  have  sinned  (cf. 
2  Cor.  V.  21).  and  for  sin  {margin,  "by  a  sacrifice 
for  sin  ").  R.V.,  "  as  an  offering  for  sin  (margin,  and 
for  sin)."  The  Greek  phrase  "  for  sin  "  is  used  in 
O.T.  as  a  technical  expression  for  the  sin-offering 
(cf.  Lev.  iv.).  Paul  conceives  of  the  death  of  Christ 
as  expiating  sin.  What  he  means  by  expiation  we 
must  gather  from  other  statements,  such  as  the 
next  clause  of  this  verse,  condemned  sin.  In 
V.  l6,  18  judgment  and  condemnation  are  related 
to  men.  But  where  God  condemns  destruction 
follows.  Hence  it  is  remarkable  and  significant 
that  here  it  is  not  man  or  Christ  who  is,  or  can 


240    Westminster  New  Testament 

be,  said  to  be  condemned.  Sin  is  condemned  on 
the  cross  in  the  death  of  the  sinless  One.  This  is 
a  transaction  between  the  holy  will  of  God  and 
the  conscience  of  man.  There  Sin  is  at  last  re- 
vealed in  its  real  nature  through  the  sacrifical  woe 
and  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  manner  and 
the  price  of  its  exposure  before  the  conscience  of 
the  world  is  an  objective  fact  through  which  hence- 
forth God  deals  with  man  in  mercy  and  man  with 
God  in  faith,  in  the  flesh.  The  condemnation  of 
sin  took  place  in  and  through  that  common  nature 
of  Christ,  which  in  other  men  had  exalted  sin  and 
yielded  to  its  deathly  lordship. 

4.  That  the  righteousness  of  the  law.  R.V., 
"  the  ordinance  {inargin,  requirement)  of  the  law." 
Another  echo  of  v.  l6.  The  purpose  of  that 
sacrifice  was  that  the  law  as  "law  of  God  "  (vii.  22) 
should  be  fulfilled,  who  walk,  etc.  An  amazing 
change  from  vii.  25.  Now  it  is  possible  for  the 
human  will  to  order  itself  not  out  of  the  impulse 
of  the  flesh — "the  law  of  sin" — but  out  of  the 
spirit — "  the  law  of  the  Spirit." 

5.  after  the  flesh, — i.e.  those  who  make  the 
fleshly  desires  the  standard  of  action,  do  mind. 
Their  whole  thought  and  interest  become  absorbed 
in  all  that  which  ministers  to  these  desires.  The 
word  "to  mind"  is  a  favourite  with  the  Apostle, 
occurring  about  twenty-four  times  in  his  writings 
(cf.  Rom.  xii.  3;  Phil.  ii.  2,  5,  iii.  15,  19;  Col. 
iii.  2  ;  also  Matt.  xvi.  23).  after  the  spirit.  One 
of  the  passages  where  it  is  not  easy  to  decide 
whether  the  direct  reference  is  to  the  higher  side 
of  man's  nature,  or  directly  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  the  quickener  of  the  higher  life.  The  very 
ambiguity  suggests  that    the   author  had  both  in 


Romans  viii.  i-ii  241 

view.  But  the  run  of  thought  up  to  ver.  9  makes 
it  easier  to  believe  that  he  is  thinking  of  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  Christian  man  in  itself  and 
on  its  human  side^,  even  though  the  feeling  or 
assumption  is  present  that  it  is  derived  from  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

6.  to  be  carnally  minded.  R.V.,  ^^he  mind 
of  the  flesh."  is  death.  The  habit  of  thought 
which  springs  from,  and  ends  in,  the  flesh  leads 
to  death  in  all  the  dread  meaning  of  that  dark 
word.  (See  note  on  v.  12.)  to  be  Spiritually 
minded.  R.V.,  ^^the  mind  of  the  Spirit."  is  life 
and  peace.  The  habit  of  thought  which  is  from 
and  in  the  things  of  the  Spirit  yields  ^Hife"  in 
all  the  glory  of  that  word,  and  the  peace  of  God 
which  passeth  all  understanding  (cf.  Eph.  iii,  l6ff.  ; 
Phil.  iv.  6-9). 

7,8.  Because  the  carnal  mind.  R.V.,  ^^the 
mind  of  the  flesh."  These  verses  give  the  reason 
for  the  contrasted  results  of  ver.  6.  enmity 
ag^ainst  God  is  inherent  in  the  whole  attitude 
of  the  mind  set  on  fleshly  things.  It  refuses 
obedience  to  his  law,  and  is  even  unable  to  obey 
it.  Such  a  life  cannot  possibly  be  approved  of, 
and  delighted  in,  by  the  God  of  holiness,  the  giver 
of  the  Spirit. 

9.  The  Apostle,  with  the  instinct  for  vividness 
and  actuality  at  work,  turns  from  the  general 
and  abstract  terms  of  the  discussion  to  address 
his  readers.  As  if  to  say.  Remember  that  in  all 
this  I  am  discussing  real  experience — your  own, 
for  instance,  in  Rome,  in  the  flesh,  in  the  Spirit. 
To  be  after  and  to  mind  the  flesh  or  the  spirit 
(ver.  5)  is  to  be  in  the  flesh  or  in  the  spirit.  Each 
is  pictured  as  a  region  wherein  the  self  finds  its 
i6 


242   Westminster  New  Testament 

conditions,  reasons,  and  ends  of  action,  if  SO  be 
.  .  .  dwell  in  you.  This  is  the  antithesis  to 
vers.  7,  8,  though  changed  in  form,  by  reason  of 
the  personal  address.  If  the  Spirit  of  God  is  at 
home  in  a  man,  pervading  his  inner  life,  enmity 
is  at  an  end ;  the  flesh  is  not  his  region  of  life, 
but  rather  ^^  the  spirit."  now  if  any  man.  R.V., 
^'  But  if  any  man."  Instead  of  God  (ver.  7)  or 
the  Spirit  of  God  (ver.  9)  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is 
used  as  another  name  for  the  same  fact.  The 
Christian  consciousness  for  practical  purposes  makes 
no  distinction,  he  is  none  of  his.  A  variant 
statement  of  the  enmity  against  God  (ver.  7). 
Without  Christ's  Spirit  a  man  does  not  belong  to 
Christ,  does  not  live  in  His  world  of  thought, 
desire,  and  action. 

10.  the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin.  The 
death  discussed  in  v.  12-21  was  death  of  the 
whole  self.  In  vi.  3-7  a  form  of  death  is  described 
wherein  the  "  body  of  sin  "  is  done  away,  through 
Christ's  death  and  the  believer's  union  with  Him. 
This  statement  is  best  connected  with  the  former 
passage,  and  there  ought  to  be  a  comma  after  the 
word  sin.  For  the  Christian  man  the  death  of  the 
body  on  account  of  sin  is  still  before  him,  but  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  life  on  account  of  righteousness. 
The  salvation  of  Christ  does  not  complete  its  work 
in  this  world,  as  the  next  verse  shows  (cf.  v.  10, 
11,21).  Righteousness — in  every  stage  and  in  the 
whole  meaning  of  the  word  as  it  is  reckoned  to 
a  man  through  faith,  and  as  it  is  realized  in  his 
character,  through  a  life  of  faith  and  obedience.* 

11.  The  work  of  salvation  will  be  completed 
in  our  resurrection  (cf.  Eph.  i.  1 8-20 ;  1  Cor. 
XV,  35-57  ;  Phil.  iii.  20,  21).     It  is  the  supreme  act 


Romans  viii.  12-17  ^43 

of  God  ;  it  is  to  be  done  upon  us  as  it  was  upon 
Jesus,  the  Man  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead ; 
it  is  conditioned  by  our  possession  of  the  same 
Spirit  which  was  in  Christ  Jesus  and  is  in  us  as 
the  very  Spirit  of  hfe,  which  can  and  shall  finally 
conquer  death  in  the  whole  range  of  its  effects. 


(2)  The  spirit  of  sonship  (viii.  12-17). 

12  Therefore,  brethren,  we  are  debtors,  not  to  the  flesh,  to 

13  live  after  the  flesh.  For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye 
shall  die  :  but  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds 

14  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live.     For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the 

15  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God.  For  ye  have  not 
received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear ;  but  ye  have 
received  the  Spirit  of  adoption,   whereby  we   cry,  Abba, 

16  Father.     The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit, 

17  that  we  are  the  children  of  God:  and  if  children,  then 
heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ ;  if  so  be 
that  we  suffer  with  him,  that  we  may  be  also  glorified 
together. 

We  are  bound  over  by  the  possession  of  the 
Spirit  to  manifest  His  moral  qualities  in  our  life 
(12,  13).  Especially  as  this  Spirit  brings  us  into 
filial  relationship  with  God,  and  urges  us  to  call 
Him  Father  with  intense  joy  in  our  freedom  and 
in  His  grace  who  "adopted"  us  (14,  15).  For  it 
is  His  own  Spirit  that  stirs  this  sense  of  kinship 
with  Him  and  assures  us  of  our  glorious  inheritance 
with  Christ  (I6,  17). 

12.  Therefore,  brethren,  we  are  debtors. 
The  thought  connects  directly  with  vers.  4,  5,  but, 
as  it  were,  passes  through  the  rest  of  that  paragraph 
to  repeat  in  ver.  17  in  another  form  the  prospect 


244   Westminster  New  Testament 

set  forth  in  ver.  11.  Not  a  blind  impulse,  but  a 
luminous  sense  of  moral  obligation,  rises  within  us. 
We  are  pledged  to  live  after  the  Spirit. 

13.  Something  must  die,  and  we  must  choose 
what  it  shall  be.  If  we  use  the  might  of  the 
Divine  Spirit  to  kill  the  doings  or  practices  of  the 
body,  we  shall  live.  We  must  be  severe  with  our 
body,  or  God  must  be  severe  with  our  self  unto 
death. 

14,  15.  The  word  for  sons  implies  the  idea  of 
status  and  of  privilege.  At  baptism  the  Spirit 
came  upon  them  because  they  were  constituted  the 
sons  of  God  as  if  by  an  act  of  formal  "adoption." 
That  Spirit  released  them  from  fear,  as  from 
bondage,  and  the  dread  name  of  God  was  changed 
into  "  Father."  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.  A  strong 
emotion  is  stirred  which  breaks  out  in  words  of 
intense  love  (cf  note  on  Gal.  iv.  6). 

i6.  beareth  witness  with.  We  are  conscious 
that  this  is  no  forced  claim  of  ours,  no  mere  aspira- 
tion, no  ungrounded  assumption.  The  Spirit 
makes  His  presence  felt  as  a  Divine  witness,  con- 
firming the  witness  of  our  own  spirit, — or  con- 
sciousness, as  we  would  say  (cf.  ii.  15).  children 
of  God.  This  word,  different  from  "  sons "  in 
ver.  13,  implies  the  idea  of  kinship,  rather  than 
legal  status.  Those  to  whom  that  status  is  given 
(adoption  of  sons)  find  themselves  His  children  in 
nature,  in  their  spirit,  the  movement  of  their  new 
volitional  consciousness  (cf.  vii.  6). 

17.  heirs  of  God.  For  the  full  sweep  of  this 
inheritance  now  and  hereafter,  see  1  Cor.  iii. 
21-23.  joint  heirs  with  Christ  (cf  Matt.  xxi. 
38,  XXV.  34).  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  him. 
The  inheritance   begins  among  "things  present," 


Romans  viii.  18-25  245 

and  they  include  suffering.  The  idea,  though  not 
the  same  Greek  word,  is  present  in  Phil.  iii.  8. 
But  the  word  recurs  in  Phil.  iii.  10  (cf.  Gal.  vi.  17  ; 
2  Cor.  xii.  10). 

(3)  The  universal  and  the  Christian  hope  (viii.  18-25). 

18  For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with   the   glory  which   shall   be 

19  revealed  in  us.     For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature 

20  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God.  For  the 
creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  but  by 

21  reason  of  him  who  hath  subjected  the  same  in  hope ;  be- 
cause the  creature  itself  also  shall  be  delivered  from  the 
bondage  of  corruption   into   the   glorious   liberty   of  the 

22  children  of  God.     For  we  know  that  the  whole  creation 

23  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now.  And 
not  only  they,  but  ourselves  also,  which  have  the  firstfruits 
of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves, 
waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the   redemption  of  our 

24  body.  For  we  are  saved  by  hope :  but  hope  that  is  seen 
is  not  hope  :  for  what  a  man  seeth,  why  doth  he  yet  hope 

25  for  ?  But  if  we  hope  for  that  we  see  not,  then  do  we  with 
patience  wait  for  it. 

Laying  hold  of  the  idea  of  "  suffering"  (ver.  17) 
the  Apostle  proceeds  to  contrast  the  inevitable 
sufferings  of  the  present  with  the  final  glory 
(ver.  18).  (1)  But  to  do  this  his  thought  suddenly 
opens  to  include  within  its  sweep  a  cosmic  view 
alike  of  suffering  and  glory.  He  sees  "the 
creation/'  the  whole  of  Nature  looking  eagerly  for 
the  unveiling  of  glory.  For  Nature  has  been  united 
by  God's  judgment  in  that  bondage  in  which 
man's  sin  involved  him.  The  Apostle  hears  the 
sighing  of  Nature  for  deliverance  and  sees  her  in 


246   Westminster  New  Testament 

pangs  of  expectation,  since  God  in  the  midst  of  her 
bondage  set  the  Ught  of  hope  aflame — hope  that 
shall  be  fulfilled  for  her  also  when  freedom  of  glory- 
shall  be  attained  by  the  children  of  God  (vers. 
19-22).  (2)  These  very  children  of  God — "  we  our- 
selves " — having  the  beginnings  of  that  deliverance 
planted  in  them,  look  for  their  share  in  that  event 
through  the  deliverance  of  the  body  from  corrup- 
tion. Their  salvation  in  its  full  sense  is  still  in  the 
future — a  matter  of  hope,  not  of  actual  possession, 
an  event  to  be  awaited  with  the  strong  will  of 
endurance  which  we  call  ^patience  (vers.  23-25). 

18.  For  I  reckon  (cf.  vi.  11).  There  are  times 
when  we  need  to  reason,  and  reason  deeply,  upon 
our  situation.  Our  faith  is  not  a  blind  impulse  :  it 
can  give  an  account  of  itself  (cf.  viii.  38  ;  1  Pet.  iii. 
15).  shall  be  revealed  in  us.  R.V.,  "to  us- 
ward."  The  glory  of  that  day  will  break  upon  us 
as  well  as  include  us.  The  future  tense  is  ex- 
pressed in  an  emphatic  form  in  the  Greek,  to  mark 
the  certainty  of  that  event  as  in  the  Divine  plan. 

19.  the  earnest  expectation  (see   note  on 

Phil.  i.  20).  The  term  suggests  "spectators 
straining  forward  over  the  ropes  to  catch  the  first 
glimpse  of  some  triumphal  pageant "  (Sanday  and 
Headlam).  of  the  creature.  R.V.,  "of  the  crea- 
tion." waiteth  for  the  manifestation.  R.V., 
"  the  revealing."  The  modern  doctrine  of  evolution 
deepens  this  poetic  vision  into  a  philosophic  con- 
ception of  the  relation  of  nature  and  man.  Nature 
is  imperfect  in  herself,  does  strive  forward  towards 
a  goal  which  is  discovered  in  the  structure  and 
destiny  of  man. 

20.  For  the  creature.  R.V.,  "For  the  crea- 
tion."    The  emphasis  in  the  Greek  is  on  the  word 


Romans  viii.  18-25  247 

"  vanity."  The  reference  is  to  the  judgment  ex- 
pressed in  Gen.  iii.  17,  18,  where  God  is  said  to 
visit  man's  sin  even  upon  the  earth  from  whose 
fruits  he  is  nourished.  It  would  be  impossible,  of 
course,  to  establish  this  from  the  modern  inter- 
pretation of  nature,  which  sees  even  death,  in 
plants  and  animals,  as  one  of  the  conditions  of 
evolution.  Yet  in  this  sense  also  nature  has  been 
subjected  to  vanity  in  hope.  There  is  direction 
even  in  her  seemingly  useless  alternation  of  life 
and  death,  light  and  darkness,  and  all  the  circular 
movements  which  made  the  preacher  cry,  "  Vanity 
of  vanities"  (Eccl.  i,  4-11). 

21.  because  the  creature  itself.  R.V.,  "in 
hope  that  the  creation  itself."  In  margin  the 
punctuation  is  as  in  A.V.  the  bondage  of  cor- 
ruption. The  contrast  of  that  glorious  liberty, 
or,  better  (R.V.),  "  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the 
children  of  God." 

22.  Paul  sees  the  whole  process  of  nature  as  if 
labouring  in  conscious  pain,  even  as  of  a  woman  in 
travail,  and  takes  for  granted  that  others  (we 
know)  have  the  same  insight. 

23.  And  not  only  they.  R.V.,  "And  not 
only  so."  the  firstfruits  of  the  Spirit  (cf  Eph. 
i.  12-14).  The  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  had  pro- 
duced many  wonderful  results  in  the  experience  of 
the  first  Christians — miracles  (Gal.  iii.  5),  other  gifts 
(1  Cor.  xii,),  as  well  as  moral  qualities  (Gal.  v.  22). 
Paul  calls  them  all  at  most  and  best,  but  firstfruits. 
The  very  heart  that  has  them  groans  or  sighs  in 
sympathy  with  all  creation  for  more.  That 
something  more  is  doubly  described,  waiting" 
for  the  adoption.  R.V.,  "  our  adoption."  We 
have  had  abundant  proof  of  the  power  with  which 


248   Westminster  New  Testament 

the  Apostle  Paul  conceives  all  the  aspects  of 
salvation  as,  to  use  a  modern  phrase,  elements  of 
an  organic  process.  Adoption  is  a  present  fact 
(ver.  15),  but  here  it  is  a  future  consummation.  So 
redemption,  which  in  Eph.  i.  7  and  Col.  i.  14  is 
said  to  consist  in  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins,  is  here 
identified  with  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
Observe  that  Paul  here  sees  our  body  as  the  point 
of  connection  between  nature  and  ourselves,  both 
now  and  hereafter  (cf.  1  Cor.  xv.). 

24.  For  we  are  saved  by  hope.  K.V.,  "  For 
in  hope  were  we  saved."  He  looks  back  to  the 
beginning   of   the    Christian   life   and    sees    hope 

arising  there  (cf  v.  1-5).    but  hope  that  is  seen 

is  not  hope.  Almost  a  play  upon  the  word. 
When  the  thing  hoped  for  is  possessed,  hope  has 
passed  into  the  joy  of  attainment. 

25.  with  patience  wait  for  it.  For  patience 
see  ii.  7,  v.  3,  4 ;  and  Luke  viii.  15,  xxi.  19. 


(4)  Further  grounds  of  confidence  (viii.  26-30). 
(a)  The  spirit  of  prayer  (26,  27). 

26  Likewise  the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmities  :  for  we 
know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought :  but  the 
Spirit  itself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which 

27  cannot  be  uttered.  And  he  that  searcheth  the  hearts 
knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  because  he  maketh 
intercession  for  the  saints  according  to  the  will  of  God. 

26.  Likewise  the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our 
infirmities.  R.V.,  "And in  like  manner  the  Spirit 
also  helpeth  our  infirmity."  The  Spirit  of  God  is 
a  living  presence  within  us,  having  His  own  mind 


Romans  viii.  26-30  249 

(ver.  27)  or  purpose  and  interest,  and  in  the  depth 
of  our  nature  puts  His  will  and  mind  at  the  aid  of 
our  weakness,  for  we  know  not  ...  as  we 
OUg^ht, — i-e.  as  necessity  arises.  Our  weakness  lies 
in  our  ignorance  of  the  prayer  that  each  need 
should  prompt,  maketh  intercession  for  us. 
This  Divine  Presence  in  us  takes  our  whole  case 
and  each  need  into  His  own  interest,  and  in  our 
groanings — our  inexpressible  and  intense  desires — 
He  is  pleading  for  us. 

27.  Our  prayers  at  their  deepest  are  not  our 
own ;  and  yet  they  are  our  own,  for  it  is  in  our 
desire  and  emotion  and  will  that  the  Spirit  makes 
His  mind  known  to  God.  And  God  sees  in  our 
hearts  the  pleadings  of  His  own  Spirit. 


(6)  The  perfecting:  will  of  God  (28-30). 

28  And  we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God,  to  them  who  are  thej'called  accord- 

29  ing  to  his  purpose.  For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also 
did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son, 
that   he   might  be   the    firstborn   among   many  brethren. 

30  Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called  : 
and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified  :  and  whom  he 
justified,  them  he  also  glorified. 

It  has  been  well  observed  that  St.  Paul  in  this 
passage  takes  his  stand,  as  it  were,  at  the  close  of 
the  whole  history  of  man  and  his  redemption.  He 
looks  back  and  surveys  the  wondrous  story  of  that 
Divine  will  which  has  converged  '^  all  things " 
upon  one  supreme  end,  and  has  without  fault  or 
failure  passed  from  stage  to  stage  in  its  accomplish- 
ment, until  the  lovers  of  God,  the  called  of  God, 


250   Westminster  New  Testament 

stand  in  glory.  Some  of  the  difficulties  of  inter- 
pretation^ or  rather  some  of  the  dangers  of  doctrinal 
deduction  from  this  passage  will  be  avoided  if  we 
keep  this  in  view.  A  similar  experience  arises 
when  any  biographer  unfolds  the  life  of  some 
human  will.  As  we  look  back  over  the  completed 
story,  it  seems  all  of  a  piece.  We  see  the  veteran 
outlined  in  the  youth,  the  child  as  father  of  the 
man.  To  imagine  a  break  at  any  point  of  the 
story — one  influence  removed,  one  decision  changed 
— would  throw  the  whole  into  confusion.  And  yet 
he  was  living  in  conscious  freedom,  and  spite  of 
the  linked  chain  of  events  which  are  his  career, 
we  know  that  his  personality  moved  in  and  over 
them  all  with  sovereign  power.  The  story  might 
and  could  have  been  different,  though  the  secret 
lies  in  the  bosom  of  mystery.  Why  not  with  God 
and  man  ? 

28.  And  we  know.  From  the  subjective  ex- 
perience just  described  the  Apostle  turns  to  the 
will  of  God.  The  ground  of  this  knowledge  he 
does  not  give.  Partly  he  would  no  doubt  find  it 
in  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  partly  he  would  derive  it 
from  the  very  idea  of  God  as  Supreme  Lord  of  all, 
which  is  an  unargued  assumption  of  all  his  writings. 

all   things   work    together   for  good.    RV. 

margin  says,  "Some  ancient  authorities  read — 
'  God  worketh  all  things  with  them  for  good,'  " 
which  would  mean  that  God  co-operates  with 
those  that  love  him.  who  are  the  called.  R.V., 
"that  are  called "  (cf  i.  1,  6,  7).  Those  who 
love  God  are  those  whom  He  has  called  (and 
brought)  into  His  fellowship,  according  tO  his 
purpose  (cf.  Eph.  i.  11,  iii.  11).  The  purpose 
of   God    even  with  individuals  is  an  eternal  fact. 


Romans  viii.  28-30  251 

That  purpose   is    secured   through  His  control  of 
"  all  things  unto  good." 

29.  For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did 
predestinate.  R.V.^ ''  For  whom  he  foreknew,  he 
also  foreordained."  Looking  back,  as  it  were,  from 
the  day  of  glory,  he  sees  that  before  all  time 
God  did  regard  or  recognize  those  who  in  time 
would  be  His  own.  "  To  know "  is  in  Biblical 
usage  to  regard  favourably  (Ps.  i.  6 ;  Amos  iii.  2 ; 
Matt.  vii.  23).  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  his  son.  R.V.,  ^^Son."  This  must  refer  not 
to  the  character  of  Jesus  only,  but  to  the  glorious 
Being  that  He  now  is,  as  Risen  Lord  (cf.  i.  4 ; 
Phil.  iii.  21).  firstborn.  This  word  is  applied  to 
Christ  in  Col.  i.  18;  in  Rev.  i.  5  as  ''  firstborn  of  the 
dead."  And  here  it  probably  refers  to  Him  as 
the  first  to  triumph  over  death  (cf.  Col.  i.  15). 

30.  Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate. 
R.V.,  ^^  and  whom  he  foreordained."  The  "  call "  is 
the  realization  in  time  of  that  eternal  foreordina- 
tion.  It  comes  through  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  and  all  the  outward  agencies  of  God's 
love,  as  well  as  by  the  inner  working  of  the  Spirit. 
justified.  The  call  was  met  by  faith,  and  through 
faith  (as  the  preceding  chapters  have  explained) 
God  reckoned  men  righteous.  glorified.  The 
intermediate  steps  are  omitted.  With  one  breath- 
less flight  of  faith  Paul  sees  the  men  who  are  put 
right  with  God  in  time  carried  with  Divine  cer- 
tainty to  their  destiny,  which  is  described  here 
(and  in  other  words  in  1  John  iii.  2)  as  being  like 
the  Risen  Christ  (ver.  29). 


!52    Westminster  New  Testament 


(5)  The  assurance  of  faith  (viii.  31-39). 

31  What  shall  we  then  say  to  these  things?     If  God  be  for 

32  us,  who  can  be  agamst  us  ?  He  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 

33  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  Who  shall  lay 
any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?     It  is  God  that 

34  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth?  It  is  Christ 
that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at 
the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for 

35  us.  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  shall 
tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  naked- 

36  ness,  or  peril,  or  sword.  As  it  is  written,  For  thy  sake 
we  are  killed  all  the  day  long ;  we  are  accounted  as  sheep 

37  for  the  slaughter.     Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more 

38  than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am 
persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 

39  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature, 
shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

In  this  concluding  paragraph  of  his  sublime 
argument  the  Apostle  reaches  the  very  crown  of 
Christian  certitude.  He  opens  his  statement  with 
a  series  of  bold,  challenging  questions  to  some  of 
which  he  gives  an  answer.  The  burden  of  these 
questions  is  whether  or  not  there  be  any  power 
or  authority  which  can  daunt  Christian  faith,  or 
cut  the  fellowship  established  in  Christ  between 
God  and  the  justified  man.  (1)  He  starts  out  on 
the  height,  for,  God  being  on  our  side.  His  love  is 
already  pledged  in  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  to  complete 
His  work  in  us  and  for  us  (vers.  31-32).  (2)  No  one 
can  bring  any  indictment  against  those  whom 
God  has  justified  ;   no    one    can   bring  judgment 


Romans  viii.  31-39  253 

down  upon  those  for  whom  Christ  died,  for  whom  He 
now  lives  enthroned  over  all  (vers.  33-34<).  (3)  From 
the  love  of  this  glorious,  living,  and  omnipotent 
Christ  nothing  can  separate  us,  not  all  the  creatures 
in  heaven  and  earth,  not  the  blind  forces  that 
could  be  named  therein.  Nothing  can  be  con- 
ceived of  that  is  able  to  intervene  between  God 
and  the  trusting  soul.  The  love  of  God  is  pledged 
over  all  and  through  all  and  unto  all  conceivable 
issues  in  Christ  (vers.  35-39). 

31.  to  these  things,  referring  to  the  sufferings 
which  have  been  considered  as  a  permanent 
element  in  Christian  experience  (cf  v.  35),  but  also 
referring  to  the  other  side  of  the  situation,  the 
love  and  power  of  God.  The  Apostle  is  gathering 
himself  in  this  question  for  a  final  statement  of  all 
"these  things."  If  God  be  for  US.  R.V.,  "is 
for  us."  He  really  means.  Since  God  is  actively 
on  our  side.  This  is  the  fact  which  stands  out 
from  the  whole  argument  of  the  Apostle.  It  is 
the  one  fundamental  condition  of  his  life  of  which 
now  the  Christian  man  may  be  sure.  It  is  the 
primary  assumption  from  which  alone  he  can  now 
consistently  survey  the  problems  and  tasks  of  his 
future  experience. 

32.  spared  not  his  own  Son.  There  is  an 
echo  here  of  the  words  in  Gen.  xxii.  l6,  and  the 
clause  expresses  in  a  guarded  but  significant 
manner  the  love  of  the  eternal  Father  that  brooded 
amid  the  agony  and  shame  of  the  cross  over  "  his 
own  Son "  ;  cf.  note  on  viii.  3.  The  movement 
of  the  argument  is  the  same  as  that  in  v.  6  ff. 
freely  give, — that  is,  give  out  of  His  grace,  all 
things  (cf.  V.  28  ;   1  Cor.  iii.  21-23). 

33-39.  There  is  great  difficulty  in  the  punctua- 


254   Westminster  New  Testament 

tion  of  this  passage.  R.V.  text  is  the  same  as 
A.V.  R.V.  margin  makes  a  continuous  series  of 
questions  from  vers.  31  to  S5,  by  reading  in  ver.  SS, 
"  Shall  God  that  justifieth  }  "  and  in  ver.  34,  "  Shall 
Christ  Jesus  that  died  .  .  .  us  .^ "  There  is  no 
final  solution  of  this  problem  of  punctuation.  The 
most  impressive  way  of  arranging  the  material  is  to 
put  a  period  at  "justifieth"  (ver.  SS)  and  a  capital 
at  "  Who  is  he  "  (ver.  34).  In  this  way  we  have 
three  questions  followed  by  three  answers,  the 
third  question  (ver.  35)  becoming  a  double  one,  as 
the  spirit  of  challenge  rises  in  the  Apostle's  breast, 
and  the  answer,  after  the  parenthesis  of  ver.  S6, 
being  given  in  the  final  and  triumphant  words  of 
vers.  37-39. 

33.  lay  to  the  charge.  A  legal  term  implying 
the  laying  of  an  indictment  against  an  accused  person. 
God's  elect.  The  word  "elect "  is  to  be  traced  back 
to  the  lips  of  Jesus  (Matt.  xxii.  14,  xxiv.  22,  24,  31  ; 
Luke  xviii.  7).  It  is  applied  to  Christ  Himself 
(Luke  xxiii.  S5');  to  believers  (Rom.  xvi.  13; 
Col.  iii.  12;  1  Pet.  i.  1,  ii.  4,  9).  But  there  is  an 
undoubted  echo  here  of  Isa.  1.  8,  9-  It  is  God 
that  justifieth.  This  is  the  answer  to  the  preced- 
ing question  —  an  answer  of  indignation  at  the 
idea  that  God's  judgment  of  acquittal  and  release 
can  be  questioned  or  opposed  from  any  source. 
There  is  no  appeal  beyond  Him. 

34.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth?  R.V., 
"shall  condemn."  As  "condemnation"  is  in 
V.  12-21  contrasted  with  the  work  of  Christ,  it  is 
striking  to  have  the  same  contrast  repeated  here. 
It  is  Christ.  R.V.,  "Christ  Jesus."  There  is  a 
wealth  of  adoration  for  His  name  when  it  is  used 
thus  in  opposition   to  the  idea  of  condemnation. 


Romans  viii.  31-39  255 

He^  by  His  death,  His  resurrection,  and  His  reign 
in  Divine  majesty,  has  broken  the  condemnation 
and  the  reign  of  sin,  and  no  power  can  be  conceived 
which  can  reverse  this  work  and  bring  the  soul 
again  under  condemnation,  that  is  risen  again. 
R.V.,  ^^that  was  raised  from  the  dead,"  inter- 
cession for  us  (cf.  Ps.  ex.  1  ;  Heb.  vii.  25). 
With  wonderful  reserve  the  N.T.  in  various  places 
refers  to  the  work  of  Christ  in  the  invisible  world 
as  of  one  who  pleads  at  the  eternal  throne  for  those 
who  are  His  own  ;  but  He  pleads  at  the  throne  of 
love.  His  voice  is,  as  it  were,  God's  heart  speaking 
to  itself  about  our  need  (cf.  Heb.  ix.  24 ;  1  John 
ii.  2). 

35.  of  Christ.  R.V.  7nargin,  "  Some  ancient 
authorities  read  ^of  God.'  "  The  alternative  read- 
ing probably  arose  from  the  desire  to  harmonize 
this  verse  with  vers.  28,  29.  The  forms  of  suffering 
which  are  named  in  this  verse  were  all  familiar 
to  the  Apostle  himself,  and  most  of  them  are 
frequently  referred  to  in  N.T. 

36.  The  quotation  is  from  Ps.  xliv.  23.  The 
Psalmist  emphasizes  as  a  strange  fact  that  his 
people  are  made  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of  Jehovah 
— a  bewildering  fact  which  haunts  much  of  the 
second  part  of  Isaiah,  and  which  leads  up  to  the  great 
conception  of  the  suffering  Servant  of  Jehovah. 
Matt.  v.  10,  11  is  the  bridge  between  O.T.  con- 
ception of  suffering  for  righteousness  and  N.T. 
conception  of  suffering  for  Christ  (cf.  Matt.  x. 
18,  39,  xvi.  25";  2  Cor.  i.  3  ff.,  xi.  26  ff.). 

37.  This  is  the  answer  to  ver.  35,  and  the 
Apostle  coins  a  Greek  word  translated  "  more  than 
conquerors "  to  express  his  overflowing  sense  of 
triumph ;  even  in  the  midst  of  the  terrible  warfare 


256   Westminster  New  Testament 

and  anguish  his  soul  enjoys  a  continuous  victory. 
that  loved  us.  The  past  tense  refers  to  the 
supreme  expression  of  His  love  on  the  cross 
(Gal.  ii.  20). 

38,  39.  For  I  am  persuaded.  The  Apostle 
gives  his  reason  for  the  proud  tone  of  ver.  37.  He 
has  not  easily  and  lightly  reached  that  inspired 
yet  stern  conclusion  ;  he  has  faced  the  facts  without 
and  within,  and  his  attitude  is  one  not  of  blind 
superstition  or  impulse,  but  of  deep  and  rational 
conviction ;  and  hence  he  boasts  himself,  but  he 
boasts  himself  in  God.  He  knows  that  there  is 
none  who  could  stand  against  us  since  all  the 
might  and  love  of  God  is  on  our  side.  For  the  list 
of  enemies  named  here,  cf.  1  Cor.  iii.  22,  where 
some  of  the  same  are  named  as  sources  of  blessing 
and  possessions  of  the  spirit.  R.V.  omits  "powers." 
For  the  reference  to  "  angels,"  "  principalities," 
"powers,"  cf.  Eph.  i.  21;  Col.  i.  I6;  Phil.  ii.  10. 
Some  of  these  words  appear  to  have  been  used  in 
Gnostic  circles  to  describe  various  grades  of  beings, 
such  as  they  conceived  of  in  the  supernatural 
world    (cf.   Commentaries    o?i   Ephesians   and    Colos- 

sians),  nor  any  other  creature.  R.V.  margin, 
"  creation."  The  Apostle,  after  having  personified 
such  abstract  conceptions  as  height  and  depth 
which  contain  the  feeling  of  enormous  power, 
flings  out  this  phrase,  which  simply  means  "nor 
any  other  created  thing  of  any  kind."  Thus  the 
soul  that  believes  in  the  love  of  God  is,  as  it  were, 
lifted  step  by  step  beyond  all  other  conceivable 
beings  and  set  face  to  face  with  Him,  gazing  upon 
His  love  and  filling  itself  with  the  glory  that  is 
unspeakable,  which  radiates  from  Him  who  is 
love,    which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 


Romans  ix.-xi.  257 

The  Apostle  knows  of  no  other  way  by  which  the 
message  of  the  love  of  God  could  have  reached 
mankind  than  through  Jesus  Christ.  To  believe 
in  it  is  not  an  easy,  primary  assumption  of  the 
human  spirit.  Both  sin  and  death  confront  us 
perpetually,  challenging  the  fact  of  that  love,  but 
in  our  Lord,  who  died  to  remove  the  sin  and  rose 
to  conquer  death,  these  final  enemies  of  faith  are 
put  under  our  feet. 


PART  III.  THE  ELECTION  OF  ISRAEL. 
(Rom.  ix.-xi.) 

In  Part  I.  the  Apostle  set  forth  the  universal 
need  of  salvation  through  his  description  of  the 
universality  of  sin.  In  Part  II.  he  has  proclaimed 
the  glorious  provision  which  God  has  made  in 
Christ  for  the  removal  of  sin  and  the  perfecting 
of  all  who  believe  in  the  life  of  glory  hereafter. 
In  this  third  part  the  Apostle  takes  a  sudden 
and  unexpected  turn,  and  we  have  three  chapters 
forming  a  continuous  discussion  of  the  relation  of 
the  Jewish  race  to  the  will  of  God.  (For  some 
remarks  on  the  significance  and  appropriateness  of 
this  discussion,  see  Introduction.)  In  a  sense,  such 
a  discussion  has  been  prepared  for  by  the  numerous 
references  in  preceding  chapters  to  the  Jews  and 
the  Gentiles  as  coming  to  the  gospel  from  different 
directions — the  one  through  the  law,  and  the  other 
through  a  history  which  was  not  controlled  by  an 
explicit  revelation  such  as  the  O.T.  records.  In 
chaps,  i.  and  ii.  he  described  the  respective  relations 

17 


258   Westminster  New  Testament 

of  Jew  and  Gentile  to  the  fact  of  sin.  In  the  first 
verses  of  chap.  iii.  he  paused  to  emphasize  the 
spiritual  advantages  which  the  Jew  still  had  by 
inheritance  from  a  glorious  past.  Throughout 
chap.  iv.  it  is  assumed — and  the  assumption  breaks 
here  and  there  into  statement — that  the  Jews  as 
natural  descendants  of  Abraham  inherit  the  promise 
made  to  him^  but  that  this  promise  is  not  con- 
ditioned as  to  its  fulfilment  by  that  natural  descent, 
and  in  Christ  has  become  available  for  all  mankind. 
The  great  question,  therefore,  is  not  an  idle  one, 
but  such  as  pressed  for  answer  in  every  community 
where  the  Apostle  had  to  teach,  both  to  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  the  one  gospel  of  salvation  through  Jesus 
the  Messiah.  In  these  chapters  three  main  divisions 
are  usually  recognized  after  the  brief  Introduction 
(ix.  1-5).  (1)  The  problem  is  first  regarded  in  the 
light  of  the  Sovereignty  of  God,  whose  will  is 
supreme  over  all  His  creatures  (ix.  6-29).  (2)  In 
the  second  place  it  is  regarded  in  the  light  of  the 
responsibility  of  Israel,  which  is  viewed  as  a  real 
responsibility  even  though  conditioned  by  the 
Divine  Sovereignty  (ix.  30-x.  21).  (3)  In  the 
third  section  of  his  discussion  the  Apostle  very 
boldly  reconsiders  the  question  whether  Israel  has 
been  finally  rejected,  and  through  an  elaborate 
but  fascinating  process  of  dialectics  reaches  the 
conclusion  that  even  rejection  can  be  made  an 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  for  blessing  to 
Israel  as  well  as  to  the  Gentile  (xi.  1-32).  The 
argument  closes  with  an  outburst  of  praise  to  the 
wisdom  of  God  (xi.  33-36). 


Romans  ix.  1-5  259 


Rom.  ix.  1-5. 
INTRODUCTION. 

1  I   say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also 

2  bearing  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  I  have  great 

3  heaviness  and  continual  sorrow  in  my  heart.  For  I  could 
wish  that  myself  were  accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren, 

4  my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh  :  who  are  IsraeHtes  ;  to 
whom  pertaineth  the  adoption,  and  the  glory,  and  the 
covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  service  of 

5  God,  and  the  promises ;  whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of 
whom  as  concerning  the  flesh  Christ  came,  who  is  over 
all,  God  blessed  for  ever.     Amen. 

The  Apostle  opens  his  great  theme  through  an 
outburst  of  emotion.  He  does  not  formally  state 
the  topic  he  is  going  to  discuss  objectively,  but 
leads  up  to  it  through  a  revelation  of  his  own 
deep  agony  over  the  situation  with  which  it  is 
concerned. 

1.  I  say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not  (cf. 

Gal.  i.  20).  This  most  solemn  asseveration  must 
have  behind  it  the  knowledge  that  he  was  accused 
of  being  false  to  his  race,  the  hater  of  their 
religion  (cf.  Acts  xxi.  20  ff.).  my  conscience  also 
bearing  me  witness.  R.V.,  '^my  conscience 
bearing  witness  with  me."  In  ii.  15  the  con- 
science of  the  Gentile  is  said  to  bear  witness  with 
himself.  In  viii.  l6  the  Holy  Spirit  is  said  to  bear 
witness  with  our  spirit  concerning  sonship  towards 
God.  This  deep  interior  life  of  the  human  soul 
is  here  presented  at  another  angle,  for  the  Apostle 
speaks  of  his  conscience  as  supporting  him  "  in  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Perhaps  we  may  legitimately  refer 
to  viii.  26,  where  he  describes  the  Spirit  as  con- 


26o   Westminster  New  Testament 

cerned  with  the  believer  in  the  deep  agonies  of 
his  spirit  life. 

2.  great  heaviness  and  continual  sorrow. 
R.V.,  "great  sorrow  and  unceasing  pain."  The 
double  expression  does  emphasize  the  intensity  of 
Paul's  pain. 

3.  For  I  could  wish  that  (R.V.  margin,  "  pray 

that  I")  myself  were  accursed  from  Christ. 
R.V.,  "anathema."  (See  note  on  Gal.  i.  8,  9-) 
This  very  daring  expression  is  justified  only  by 
the  intense  emotion  in  which  the  Apostle  speaks. 
His  eye  is  upon  their  need,  his  love  is  upon  them 
as  his  brethren,  and  that  spirit  which  took  Christ 
to  the  cross  wells  up  in  him,  wishing  that  he 
might  even  be  doomed  if  only  that  might  prove 
their  salvation,  my  kinsmen,  etc.  Thus  he 
identifies  the  "  brethren  "  of  whom  he  speaks  as- 
being  the  Jews  and  not  Christian  believers. 

4.  A  summary  of  the  extraordinary  privileges 
which  belong  to  his  race,  and  which  knit  all 
members  of  that  race  together  in  an  extraordinary 
love.  Israelites.  While  the  word  Jew  was  used 
in  Paul's  time  mainly  to  describe  the  race,  Hebrew 
to  describe  the  people  of  a  certain  tongue,  the 
word  Israelite  was  reserved  for  the  religious 
consciousness  of  the  people.  It  expresses  their 
feeling  of  covenant  relationship  with  the  God  of 
Jacob,  the  adoption  (cf.  Hos.  xi.  l  ;  Ex.  iv.  22). 
the  glory  (cf.  Ex.  xvi.  lO;  Acts  vii.  2).  the 
covenants, — referring  to  the  frequent  reaffirmation 
of  the  covenant  of  God  with  His  people  (Gen.  xv. 
18,  xvii.  2,  7,  9  ;  Ex.  ii.  24  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  31).  the 
giving  of  the  law,  at  Mount  Sinai,  the  service 
of  God, — that  is,  the  worship  which  was  carried  on 
under  the    law.     the    promises, — namely,  those 


Romans  ix.  1-5  261 

prophetic  words  which  describe  the  Messianic 
age. 

5.  the  fathers, — referring  primarily  to  the 
patriarchs^  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  of  whom 
as  concerning  the  flesh  Christ  came.  R.V., 
"of  whom  is  Christ  as  concerning  the  flesh." 
Undoubtedly  the  connection  compels  us  to  use 
the  definite  article  and  to  say  "of  whom  is  the 
Christ.''"  for  the  Apostle  here  thinks  of  Him  as 
the  promised  Messiah  whom  Israel  had  been 
taught  to  expect  and  whom  Israel  had  now 
rejected. 

A  vast  amount  of  literature  has  grown  up  in 
the  discussion  of  the  punctuation  of  this  verse.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  when  the  earliest  MSS 
of  N.T.,  which  are  all  lost,  were  writtten,  punctua- 
tion was  practically  unknown ;  and  our  earliest 
MS.  of  N.T.  dates  from  the  fourth  century.  Hence 
the  first  copyists  who  introduced  punctuation  had 
no  more  authority  than  any  later  students  on  a 
point  like  this.  R.V.  gives  the  possible  varieties 
of  punctuation  as  follows:  (1)  (In  its  own  text) 
"Christ  as  concerning  the  flesh,  who  is  over  all, 
God  blessed  for  ever."  (2)  (With  a  full  stop  after 
"flesh")  "He  who  is  God  over  all  be  (is)  blessed 
for  ever."  (3)  "  He  who  is  over  all  is  God,  blessed 
for  ever."  (4)  (With  a  comma  after  "  flesh,"  and  a 
full  stop  after  "  all ")  "  Christ  as  concerning  the 
flesh,  who  is  over  all.  God  be  (is)  blessed  for 
ever."  There  is  least  to  be  said  for  the  fourth 
reading.  The  second  and  third  are  so  similar  that 
they  may  be  treated  for  our  present  purpose  as 
one.  The  choice,  therefore,  is  between  the  text 
of  A.V.  and  R.V.,  which  make  these  clauses  refer 
to  Christ ;  and  this  alternative,  either  (2)  or  (3), 


262   Westminster  New  Testament 

according  to  which  the  Apostle  pauses  to  utter  a 
devout  exclamation  concerning  the  supreme  will  of 
God,  who  has  presided  over  the  whole  history  of 
Israel,  and  indeed  the  world  at  large.  (1)  It  is 
not  possible  without  using  the  Greek  to  discuss 
the  grammatical  problems  involved,  but  it  is 
enough  to  say  that  while  eminent  scholars  still 
regard  this  aspect  of  the  argument  as  inconclusive, 
yet  the  weight  of  evidence  in  the  penetrating 
argument  of  Sanday  and  Head  lam  would  seem  to 
incline  the  decision  towards  the  text  instead  of 
the  margin  before  us.  On  the  other  hand,  im- 
portant scholars  feel  that  this  balance  is  too  slight 
to  determine  the  question,  especially  with  an 
author  who  was  apt  to  break  through  the  strict 
forms  of  construction,  as  we  have  so  often  seen  the 
Apostle  Paul  doing  both  in  Galatians  and  Romans 
when  he  was  strongly  moved.  (2)  No  less  incon- 
clusive is  the  argument  concerning  the  question 
whether  Paul  would  use  the  term  "  God  "  directly 
concerning  Christ.  References  to  Acts  xx.  28, 
Tit.  ii.  13  carry  no  weight,  as  either  the  text  or 
the  meaning  is  in  question  in  both  of  those 
passages.  It  is  true  that  many  passages  could  be 
referred  to  in  which  the  divinity  of  Christ  is  most 
certainly  implied,  e.g.  1  Cor.  xi.  3,  xii.  4-6 ;  2  Cor. 
iv.  4  ;  Phil.  ii.  5-11  ;  Col.  i.  13-20.  But  it  may  be 
urged,  on  the  other  hand,  that  if  Paul  had  so 
significantly  used  this  expression  here,  he  would 
have  been  much  more  likely  to  use  it  explicitly 
in  those  later  epistles  (Eph.,  Col.,  and  Phil.),  where 
he  so  fully  refers  to  the  Divine  nature  of  our  Lord. 
This  would  incline  the  decision  towards  the  margin 
instead  of  the  text  before  us.  (3)  Some  inter- 
preters urge  that  there  seems  no  reason  for  any- 


Romans  ix.  6-13  263 

thing  in  the  form  of  a  doxology  at  this  point,  and 
that  even  in  the  modified  form  which  it  assumes 
in  readings  (2)  and  (3),  it  is  intrusive.  The 
present  writer  does  not  feel  so.  The  whole 
passage  is  charged  with  intense  emotion.  The 
Apostle  has  enumerated  the  glorious  privileges  of 
his  kinsmen  in  successive  words  which  must  have 
stirred  him  to  the  depths  with  a  multitude  of  most 
sacred  associations.  He  has  at  last  named  the 
supreme  privilege,  in  that  from  that  very  race  the 
Messiah  has  come  according  to  the  flesh.  The 
reason  for  this  tumultuous  energy  of  style,  which 
is  present  all  through,  is  the  fact  that  Israel  has 
rejected  the  Messiah  Himself,  and  God  seems  to 
be  rejecting  Israel.  It  is  not  in  the  least  astonish- 
ing that  he  should  reassure  his  own  soul  and 
express  his  devout  faith  by  the  assertion  that  He 
who  is  over  all  things  throughout  this  marvellous 
mingling  of  glory  and  tragedy  in  the  story  of 
Israel,  is  the  ever-blessed  God  Himself.  This 
seems  to  the  present  writer  the  more  natural 
explanation  of  the  verse  in  spite  of  the  grammatical 
difficulties,  and  he  would  incline  to  a  choice  be- 
tween the  second  and  third  forms  offered  by  R.V. 


(I)  The  Divine  plan  is  not  followed  (ix.  6-13). 

6  Not  as  though  the  word  of  God  hath  taken  none  effect. 

7  For  they  are  not  all  Israel,  which  are  of  Israel  :  neither, 
because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abraham,  are  they  all  children: 

8  but  in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called.  That  is.  They  which 
are  the  children  of  the  flesh,  these  are  not  the  children  of 
God  :  but  the  children  of  the  promise  are  counted  for  the 

9  seed.     For  this  is  the  word  of  promise,  At  this  time  will  I 
10  come,  and  Sarah  shall  have  a  son.     And  not  only  this  ; 


264   Westminster  New  Testament 

but  when  Rebecca  also  had  conceived  by  one,  even  by  our 

11  father  Isaac  ;  (For  the  children  being  not  yet  born,  neither 
having  done  any  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of  God  ac- 
cording to  election  might  stand,  not  of  works,  but  of  him 

12  that  calleth ;)  it  was  said  unto  her,  The  elder  shall  serve 

13  the  yotmger.  As  it  is  written,  Jacob  have  I  lovedy  but  Esau 
have  I  hated. 

With  great  delicacy  the  Apostle  does  not  assert 
here  directly  that  God  has  indeed  rejected  Israel, 
or  that  the  Divine  purpose  has  failed ;  but  in  some 
form  of  it  this  is  the  assumption  which  lies  behind 
the  argument  to  which  he  proceeds,  (l)  He 
denies  that  God's  plan  has  perished  (ver.  6), 
though  it  seems  to  have  done  so.  (2)  He  draws 
attention  to  the  real  method  of  God  by  recalling 
the  fact  that  within  the  number  of  Abraham's 
children  God  chose  one  (Isaac)  as  the  channel  of 
His  purpose  (7-9)-  (3)  Even  among  the  descendants 
of  Isaac  a  further  defining  of  the  method  of  God 
took  place,  for  Jacob  was  chosen  and  Esau  rejected 
as  progenitor  of  the  chosen  people  (10-13). 

6.  Not  as  though  .  .  .none  effect.  R.V., 
"  But  it  is  not  as  though  the  word  of  God  hath 
come  to  nought."  ^'^  Word  of  God"  is  mainly 
used  in  N.T.  for  the  gospel,  but  here  it  is  applied 
to  the  express  purpose  of  God  in  the  choice  of  His 
people  (cf.  ver.  9).  "  Come  to  nought  "  (R.V.).  The 
best  English  idiom  representing  the  Greek  would 
be  "has  not  fallen  through."  For  they  are  not, 
etc.  (cf.  Gal.  iii.  7).  The  idea  here  is  not  that 
of  i.  28  but  rather  this,  that  among  the  people 
called  by  natural  alliance  "  Israelites  "  not  all  are 
called  to  be  inheritors  of  the  promise  made  to 
Israel. 


Romans  ix.  6-13  265 

7.  Proof  of  the  statement  in  ver.  6  is  given  here 
where  the  quotation  from  Gen.  xxi.  12  shows  that 
God  made  His  promise  to  Abraham  concerning  the 
descendants  of  Isaac  and  not  concerning  Ishmael, 
who  was  as  truly  Abraham's  seed  as  Isaac  him- 
self. 

8.  That  is,  They  which  are,  etc.  R.V.,  "That 
is,  it  is  not  the  children  of  God."  "  Children  of 
God  "  here  must  be  interpreted  not  in  its  final  and 
spiritual  sense  but  in  the  historical.  The  children 
whom  God  has  called  to  be  the  chosen  people  are 
not  all  those  who  are  offspring  of  Abraham,  but 
only  those  whose  origin  is  to  be  traced  back  to  the 
Divine  promise  made  to  Abraham  and  Sarah. 
These  are  alone  counted  for  the  seed  (R.V., 
"reckoned  for  a  seed  "). 

9-  the  word  of  promise.  R.V.,  "a  word  of 
promise."  The  emphasis  in  this  clause  is  on 
"promise."  At  this  time.  R.V.,  "According  to 
this  season."  The  Apostle  quotes  Gen.  xviii.  10, 
14  in  the  Greek  translation,  where  the  words  here 
translated  "according  to  this  season"  meant 
originally  "in  a  year's  time," 

10.  And  not  only  this.  R.V.,  "And  not  only 
so."  The  Apostle  clinches  his  argument  by 
adducing  a  still  further  narrowing  of  the  scope  of 
Divine  action,  but  when  Rebecca  also.  R.V., 
"but  Rebecca  also  having  conceived  by  one." 
The  emphasis  here  is  upon  the  fact  that  one 
mother  and  father  had  two  children,  between 
whom,  in  spite  of  this  close  relationship,  God  again 
made  a  momentous  choice.  (An  unexpressed 
reference  lies  here  to  the  fact  that  Ishmael  and 
Isaac  had  one  father  but  different  mothers.)  our 
father    Isaac.    The    Apostle    though    writing    to 


266   Westminster  New  Testament 

Gentile  Romans  identifies  himself  here  with  his 
people. 

11,  12.  The  sentence  which  begins  with  ver.  10 
is  broken  at  this  point  and  concluded  in  ver  12. 
being  not  yet  born,  etc.  The  Apostle  em- 
phasizes the  fact  that  God's  choice  was  announced 
in  favour  of  the  younger  and  against  the  elder  of 
the  twins  before  their  birth,  and  was  not^  therefore, 
in  any  wise  determined  by  their  action  or  their 
character,  that  the  purpose  of  God  according 
to  election.  A  very  striking  phrase,  meaning 
that  the  purpose  (cf.  viii.  28)  of  God  is  char- 
acterized by  absolute  freedom  on  His  part.  His 
choice  of  instruments  for  His  historical  design  is 
not  determined  by  their  "  works " ;  it  is  not 
dependent  upon  the  legalist  principle,  but  springs 
from  Himself,  His  own  wisdom.  His  own  love,  His 
own  determination,  him  that  calleth.  Almost 
giving  to  God  the  title  ''  the  Calling  One,"  "  the 
One  that  calls  " — that  is,  the  One  that  determines 
the  place  and  task  of  every  man,  and  appoints  him 
to  it,  as  He  did  when  before  their  birth  He  said 
of  Jacob  and  Esau  that  "  the  elder  shall  serve  the 
younger  "  (Gen.  xxv.  23). 

13.  Cf.  Mai.  i.  2,  3.  We  must  not,  of  course, 
read  into  this  verse  any  meaning  that  will  repre- 
sent God  as  inherently  and  eternally  arbitrary  and 
unjust.  The  prophetic  word  ^^  Jacob  I  loved  but 
Esau  I  hated  "  must  not  be  translated  into  meta- 
physical or  dogmatic  forms.  That,  too,  was  an 
emotional  because  a  prophetic  utterance,  and 
must  be  understood  according  to  the  mood  and 
circumstances  of  him  who  spoke  for  God.  The 
mystery  of  human  fortunes  undoubtedly  lies  in 
the    Divine  will,  either   there  or  in  a  universe  of 


Romans  ix.  14-18  267 

accident.  It  is  better  in  the  long-run  for  faith^ 
better  for  the  human  spirit,  that  it  rest  this  in- 
scrutable mystery  in  the  mind  and  will  of  the  living 
God  than  in  the  darkness  of  chance,  or  the  gross 
darkness  of  impersonal  necessity. 

(2)  First  question— Is  God  unrighteous  ?  (ix.  14-18). 

14  What  shall  we  say  then  ?     Is  there  unrighteousness  with 

15  God  ?  God  forbid.  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  /  will  have 
mercy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  com- 

16  passion  on  whom  I  will  have  compassion.  So  then  it  is 
not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that  sheweth  mercy. 

17  For  the  Scripture  saith  unto  Pharaoh,  Even  for  this  same 
purpose  have  I  raised  thee  up,  that  I  might  shew  my 
potver  in    thee,  and  that  my  name    might    be    declared 

18  throughout  all  the  earth.  Therefore  hath  he  mercy  on 
whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and  whom  he  will  he  hardeneth. 

The  Apostle  proceeds  to  discuss  his  great  theme, 
concerning  which  he  probably  had  frequent  con- 
troversies both  with  Jews  and  Gentiles,by  asking  and 
answering  questions  much  in  the  manner  employed 
in  chaps,  vi.  and  vii.  The  first  question  is 
naturally  suggested  to  every  mind  by  some  of  the 
statements  already  made  in  vers.  6,  7.  Is  God 
acting  righteously  when  He  thus  elects  Isaac  and 
then  Jacob,  rejecting  Ishmael  and  Esau  ?  Perhaps 
the  suggestion  of  unrighteousness  was  strengthened 
by  the  bold  language  of  the  prophet  Malachi, 
quoted  in  ver.  13.  The  answer  which  the  Apostle 
gives  (vers.  15-18)  is  simply  a  reassertion  of  the 
principle  that  God  acts  on  His  own  authority,  and 
that  all  mercy  flows  from  Himself  alone.  Behind 
this  there  is,  of  course,  a  great  conviction  in  the 


268   Westminster  New  Testament 

Apostle's  heart  concerning  God  that  He  is  the 
supreme  will  and  that  His  will  is  supremely  good 
and  holy. 

14.  The  form  of  the  question  in  Greek — Is  there 
unrighteousness  with  God  ? — is  one  that  implies 
a  negative  answer,  and  the  Apostle  gives  it  with 
his  energetic  phrase,  translated  "  God  forbid." 

15.  The  appeal  to  the  experience  of  Moses  is 
made  with  great  confidence  (Ex.  xxxiii.  19,  Gr. 
trans.).  His  readers  will  not  question  what  was 
said  to  the  great  lawgiver.  I  will  have  mercy  On 
whom  I  will  have  mercy,  etc.  R.V., ''  on  whom 
I  have  mercy  ...  on  whom  I  have  compassion." 
The  word  for  compassion  is  usually  interpreted  as 
conveying  more  emotion,  more  of  pity  and  tender- 
ness than  that  translated  mercy.  It  is  applied  to 
God  in  Rom.  xii.  1  ;  2  Cor.  i.  3  ;  Jas.  v.  11. 

16.  Since  the  pity  of  God  springs  from  His  own 
will,  the  Apostle  hastens  to  insist  that  it  cannot 
arise  from,  or  be  caused  by,  any  human  conditions. 
The  experience  of  it  is  not  the  product  of  our  will, 
nor  is  it  won  by  our  earnest  striving  to  deserve  it. 
The  word  "  runneth  "  is  used  frequently  for  effort 
prolonged  through  time  (Gal.  ii.  2  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  24  ff.  ; 
Phil.  ii.  16;  Heb.  xii.  1).  that  sheweth  mercy. 
R.V.,  "that  hath  mercy." 

1 7.  Having  drawn  an  illustration  from  God's  deal- 
ing with  the  great  prophet,  the  Apostle  turns  to 
draw  another  from  the  Divine  method  with  Pharaoh. 
The  Scripture  quoted  (Ex.  ix.  l6)  describes  God  as 
addressing  Pharaoh  and  announchig  that  through 
him,  and  even  through  his  rejection  of  the  commands 
of  God,  the  name  of  God  would  be  declared 
throughout  all  the  earth  (R.V.,  "published 
abroad  in  all  the  earth").  The  Apostle  makes  a  slight 


Romans  ix.  19-29  269 

change  in  the  Greek  which  he  quotes,  using  "  raised 
thee  up  "  instead  of  "  made  thee  to  stand."  The 
original  referred  to  the  recovering  of  Pharaoh  from 
sickness,  but  the  Apostle  applies  the  word  to  his 
whole  career  as  a  figure  in  history. 

18.  Therefore  hath,  etc.  R.V.,  ^^So  then  he  hath 
mercy  on  whom  he  will,  and  whom  he  will  he 
hardeneth."  The  emj)hasis  is  very  powerful  on  the 
word  ^^  he  will"  in  each  clause.  The  word^^hardeneth" 
refers  to  Ex,  vii.  3,  22,  viii.  19,  ix.  12,  xiv.  17. 
The  Apostle  is  clearly  not  attempting  any  defence 
of  the  righteousness  of  God,  but  insisting  that  God's 
will  is  the  supreme  source  of  human  history.  As 
this  paragraph  is  only  part  of  a  prolonged  argument 
it  is  irrational  to  isolate  it  and  make  deductions 
from  these  words  as  if  they  were  in  Paul's  mind 
unbalanced  by  any  other  considerations.  We  shall 
see  that,  strong  as  the  statements  are  in  this 
place,  he  does  modify  them  as  his  exposition  moves 
on. 


(3)  Second  question — God's  will  and  man's  responsibility 
(ix.  19-29). 

19  Thou  wilt  say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth  he  yet  find  fault  ? 

20  For  who  hath  resisted  his  will  ?  Nay  but,  O  man,  who  art 
thou  that  repliest  against  God  ?     Shall  the  thing  formed  say 

21  to  him  that  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus?  Hath 
not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to 
make  one  vessel  unto  honour,  and  another  unto  dishonour  ? 

22  What  if  God,  willing  to  shew  his  wrath,  and  to  make  his 
power  known,  endured  with  much  longsuffering  the  vessels 

23  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction  :  and  that  he  might  make 
known  the  riches  of  his  glory  on  the  vessels  of  mercy,  which 

24  he  had  afore  prepared  unto  glory,  even  us,  whom  he  hath 


270   Westminster  New  Testament 

25  called,  not  of  the  Jews  only,  but  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?  As 
he  saith  also  in  Osee,  /  will  call  them  my  people,  which 
were  not  my  people ;  and  her  beloved,  which  was  not  be- 

26  loved.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  in  the  place  where 
it  was  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my  people  ;  there  shall 

27  they  be  called  the  children  of  the  living  God.  Esaias  also 
crieth  concerning  Israel,  Though  the  number  of  the  children 
of  Israel  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  a  remnant  shall  be  saved: 

28  for  he  will  finish  the  work,  and  cut  it  short  in  righteousness : 

because  a  short  work  will  the  Lord  77iake  upon  the  earth. 

29  And  as  Esaias  said  before,  Except  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  had 
left  us  a  seed,  we  had  been  as  Sodoma,  and  been  made  like 
unto  Gomorrah. 

The  Apostle  hears  some  one  objecting  that  if  God 
thus  hardens  and  shows  mercy  as  He  will^  then 
human  responsibility  is  abolished^  and  he  answers 
this  in  three  successive  statements.  (1)  He  insists 
on  God's  unimpeachable  right  over  man  (vers.  19-21). 
(2)  He  proceeds  to  modify  the  unmitigated  fatalism 
of  these  verses  by  showing  that  in  His  dealings  with 
men  God  is  not  reasonless  but  moved  by  moral  con- 
siderations (vers.  22-24).  (3)  In  a  series  of  quota- 
tions he  finds  confirmation  for  this  point  of  view  in 
the  prophets  of  O.T.  (vers.  2.5-29). 

19.  Why  doth  he  yet  find  fault.  R.V.,  ^^  Why 
doth  he  still  find  fault."  This  is  an  irrepressible 
question^  and  one  which  his  own  preceding  state- 
ment could  not  but  elicit  from  any  reasoning  mind, 
hath  resisted.  R.V.^  "  withstandeth."  This  word 
might  be  translated  "  is  withstanding."  The  effect 
of  it  really  is  to  raise  the  question — Who  can  with- 
stand the  will  of  the  Almighty  ?  The  evil  man  is 
plastic  material  and  can  offer  no  resistance.  The 
good  man  is  also  plastic  material.  Both,  according 
to  the  premises,  are  alike  in  their  absolute  depend- 


Romans  ix.  19-29  271 

ence  upon  the  resistless  will  of  God.  This,  of 
course,  is  fatalism  if  it  is  carried  to  its  logical  issues. 
his  will.  The  same  word  is  used  in  Acts  xxvii.  43, 
1  Pet.  iv,  3,  and  refers  to  a  deliberate  counsel  and 
considered  resolve. 

20.  The  Apostle  is  not  afraid  of  the  challenge. 
He  meets  it  with  a  series  of  questions  which  are 
almost  defiant,  and  are  certainly  indignant,  in  their 
tone.  O  man.  These  words  should  come  first 
in  the  sentence,  for  they  emphasize  the  fact  that 
he  is  addressing  a  creature  and  appealing  to  him  as 
a  creature.  He  is  a  thing  formed  (Isa.  xxix.  l6, 
xlv.  8-10,  Ixiv.  8  ;  Jer.  xviii.  6).  In  these  passages 
we  find  the  source  for  the  illustration  which  is 
embodied  in  this  and  the  following  verses.  Who 
can  imagine  clay  arguing  with  the  hand  that 
shapes  it? 

21.  In  this  famous  figure  the  emphasis  is  upon 
man's  utter  helplessness  under  the  inconceivable 
power  of  God.  He  surely  has  the  right  to  choose 
what  He  shall  make  of  each  part  of  the  human 
mass,  as  the  potter  chooses  one  portion  of  the  clay 
for  one  kind  of  vessel  and  another  for  another 
kind. 

22.  So  far  the  Apostle  has  not  modified  the 
position  taken  up  in  vers.  15-18;  rather  has  he 
confirmed  it  with  the  emphasis  of  a  striking  illus- 
tration. His  object  evidently  is  to  crush  the  pride 
of  all  who  would  claim  any  rights  before  God,  and 
who  refuse  to  yield  themselves  as  material  to  His 
inscrutable  purpose.  In  this  and  the  following 
verses,  however,  a  new  element  is  introduced. 
God's  will  is  a  moral  will  with  a  purpose  moving  it, 
and  does  not  therefore  act  in  a  merely  uncon- 
ditioned manner,     willing  to  shew.    The  question 


272   Westminster  New  Testament 

has  been  raised  whether  we  are  to  interpret  this 
as  meaning  "  what  if  God  because  he  is  willing  to 
show  his  wrath,"  etc.,  or  whether  we  should  read 
"  what  if  God,  although  willing  to  show  his  wrath." 
The  second  is  undoubtedly  the  true  interpretation, 
for  the  first  would  introduce  a  contradiction  in 
terms  into  this  one  sentence.  The  long-suffering 
of  God  stands  in  striking  contrast  with  that  moral 
indignation  which  He  feels  with  sin,  and  that 
Divine  impulse,  may  we  say,  to  act  with  all  His 
power  upon  His  indignation.  He  has  restrained 
this  will  and  carried,  as  if  it  were  a  great  burden, 
the  continued  existence  of  those  who  are  called  in 
terrible  language,  "vessels  of  wrath  fitted  unto 
destruction."  On  the  long-suffering  of  God,  cf. 
11.  4,  iii.  25.  The  word  "fitted"  is  sometimes 
used  for  mending  or  restoring  (cf.  Mark  i.  19; 
Gal.  vi.  1);  sometimes  with  the  idea  of  com- 
pleteness (1  Thess.  iii.  10  ;  Eph.  iv.  12;  Heb.  xiii. 
21).  Observe  that  the  Apostle  does  not  say  by 
whom  they  were  fitted  unto  destruction ;  all 
he  is  concerned  with  is  the  fact  that  they  are  so 
fitted. 

23.  and  that  he  might.  R.V.  margin  omits 
"and."  The  construction  begun  in  ver.  22 
would  be  carried  out  if  the  word  "and"  were 
omitted.  All  editors  retain  it,  even  at  the  expense 
of  the  grammar,  the  riches  of  his  glory  (cf. 
Eph.  i.  9-14).  The  Apostle  here  pictures  the 
glory  of  God  falling  upon  and  bathing  in  its  light 
the  vessels  fashioned  for  that  great  design.  The 
words  "riches"  and  "mercy"  are  frequently 
found  in  close  association  in  the  Apostle's  writings. 
To  him  the  wonder  of  the  spiritual  universe  could 
only  be  expressed  in  the  greatest  terms  of  earthly 


Romans  ix.  19-29  273 

experience  (cf.  ii.  4 ;  Eph.  iii.  l6  fF.).  afore 
prepared.  This  compound  word  occurs  again 
(Eph.  ii.  10).  Two  Greek  words  in  this  verse  occur 
also  in  Luke  i.  17.  The  complete  providence  of 
God  prepares  all  things  necessary  for  complete 
salvation  (cf  Matt.  xx.  23 ;  John  xiv.  2 ;  1  Cor. 
ii.  9  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  21).  untO  glory  (cf.  Rom.  v.  1  ff., 
viii.  28-30). 

24.  even  us  whom  he    has    called.   R.V., 

"even  us,  whom  he  also  called."  Paul  never 
hesitates  to  claim  the  whole  wealth  of  God  for 
himself  and  for  all  who  have  become  believers  in 
Christ ;  and  he  here  returns  to  the  fact  that  God 
has  chosen  for  this  great  experience  not  only  Jews 
but  Gentiles.  The  will  behind  history  has  ignored 
the  proud  claims  of  unspiritual  Jews.  The  same 
will  has  not  shrunk  from  lifting  to  the  highest 
level  the  slaves  of  idolatry. 

25.  The  quotation  in  this  verse  is  from  Hos. 
ii.  23  (Gr.  trans.).  The  original  passage  refers  to  the 
restoration  of  the  ten  tribes,  but  Paul  (and  certain 
Jewish  scholars  took  this  view)  extends  the 
principle  of  a  merciful  restoration  to  the  Gentiles 
(cf.  1  Pet.  ii.  10). 

26.  This  verse  is  taken  from  Hos.  i.  10.  The 
Apostle  supplies  the  word  there,  which  it  is 
impossible  to  explain  in  the  situation  which  he  is 
describing. 

27.  28.  Though  the  number.  R.V.,  "If  the 
number."  a  remnant  shall  be  saved.  R.V., 
"it  is  the  remnant  which  shall  be  saved."  These 
verses  comprise  a  loose  quotation  from  Isa.  x.  22,  23 
(Gr.  trans.).  The  first  clause  (ver.  28)  is  in  the 
O.T.  most  obscure,  and  was  mistranslated  in  the 
Greek.     Paul  evidently  uses  the  latter,  changes  it, 


274   Westminster  New  Testament 

and  then  reads  another  meaning  mto  the  words  as 
he  adapts  them  to  the  idea  that  God  has  always 
limited  the  scope  of  His  elective  purpose  as  it 
pleased  Him.  For  he  will  finish  .  .  .  righteous- 
ness. R.V.,  ''  for  the  Lord  will  execute  his  word 
upon  the  earth,  finishing  it  and  cutting  it  short." 
The  changes  here  are  due  to  different  readings  in 
the  Greek  text,  because  a  short .  .  .  the  earth. 
R.V.  omits  this  clause  entirely. 

29.  An  exact  quotation  from  the  Greek  of  Isa. 

i.  9. 

In  this  section  of  his  argument  the  Apostle  has 
been  dealing  with  the  question  raised  in  ver.  19 — 
How  man  can  be  responsible  if  God's  will  is 
absolute  ?  It  is  quite  clear  that  in  the  course  of 
the  three  subsections  in  his  argument  he  has  not 
really  met  that  difficulty.  The  quotations  simply 
reassert  his  original  proposition,  and  the  nearest 
approach  to  explanation  is  to  be  found  in  vers. 
22,  23,  where  he  asserts  that  God  in  all  His  active 
will  upon  human  history  has  observed  moral  con- 
ditions and  pursued  moral  ends.  How  those  are 
related  to  the  original  problem  he  does  not 
explain. 

Rom.  ix.  30-x.  21. 

2.  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY. 

Throughout  this  discussion  the  Apostle  has  been 
fearlessly  emphasizing  the  Divine  sovereignty,  and 
his  statements,if  taken  alone,might  well  lead  to  sheer 
fatalism,  but  (and  in  this  he  followed  the  example 
of  many  Jewish  theologians)  he  turns  now  to 
assert,  as  directly  and  sincerely,  the  fact  of  human 
responsibility  in  the  very  face  of  the  providential 


Romans  ix.  30-x.  4  275 

will  of  God.  We  may  for  convenience  take  his 
argument  here  in  four  stages.  (1)  In  the  first 
place  he  restates  the  facts  which  have  given  rise 
to  the  problem  and  finds  that  the  Jews  have  of 
themselves  rejected  the  provision  of  God's  grace 
in  Christ  (ix.  30-x.  4).  (2)  Then  he  restates  the 
fundamental  opposition  between  the  two  great 
principles  of  law  and  faith  with  which  he  has  been 
so  frequently  concerned  in  previous  discussions, 
but  which  he  here  describes  in  quite  a  fresh 
manner  (x.  5-13).  (3)  Three  interesting  verses 
are  introduced  which  emphasize  the  need  that  this 
law  of  faith,  the  word  of  the  gospel,  shall  itself 
be  proclaimed.  It  is  not  a  matter  which  the 
human  spirit  can  discover,  but  must  be  brought 
to  every  soul  as  a  message  from  God  (14-16).  (4) 
Then  he  returns  to  the  dreadful  fact  which 
harrows  his  heart  and  which  pervades  the  whole 
of  this  discussion  with  the  sense  of  tragedy,  namely, 
that  Israel  has  rejected  the  proclamation  concern- 
ing the  Christ,  and  even  this  is  illustrated  by 
quotations  from  the  O.T.  (17-21). 


(i)  What  are  the  facts  ?  (ix.  30-x.  4). 

30  What  shall  we  say  then  ?  That  the  Gentiles  which  followed 
not  after  righteousness,  have  attained  to  righteousness,  even 

31  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith.  But  Israel,  which 
followed  after  the  law  of  righteousness,  hath  not  attained 

32  to  the  law  of  righteousness.  Wherefore?  Because  they 
sought  it  not  by  faith,  but  as  it  were  by  the  works  of  the 

33  law.  For  they  stumbled  at  that  stumblingstone ;  as  it  is 
written,  Behold,  1  lay  in  Sion  a  stumblingstone  and  rock  of 
offence :  and  whosoever  believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed. 

X.   I  Brethren,  my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel 


276   Westminster  New  Testament 

2  is,  that  they  might  be  saved.     For  I  bear  them  record  that 

3  they  have  a  zeal  of  God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge. 
For  they,  being  ignorant  of  God's  righteousness,  and 
going  about  to  establish  their  own  righteousness,  have  not 
submitted    themselves    unto   the    righteousness    of    God. 

4  For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every 
one  that  believeth. 

30.  What  shall  we  say  then?  With  this 
question  the  Apostle  returns  to  face  the  facts  afresh 
from  which  the  whole  problem  arises,  righteous- 
ness. Four  times  in  two  verses  is  this  word  used, 
for  it  is  the  real  subject  from  which  every  aspect 
of  the  problem  has  started,  followed  not  after 
(cf.  ii.  7).  The  Gentiles,  even  when  pursuing 
lofty  ideals,  had  no  conception  of  God  which  could 
awaken  within  them  the  desire  to  stand  right  with 
Him  personally  and  directly.  The  word  ''  follow  " 
is  used  elsewhere  by  Paul  for  the  pursuit  of  good 
ends  (cf.  1  Cor.  xiv.  1  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  11  ;  2  Tim.  ii. 
22;  1  Pet.  iii.  11).  But  the  word  is  frequently 
used  in  N.T.  for  the  act  of  persecution.  We  use 
the  word  ^^ prosecute"  in  a  similar  double  sense. 
have  attained  to.  R-V.  omits  ^^have."  This  and 
the  preceding  words  are  used  together  also  in 
Phil.  iii.  12.  The  fact  is  that  the  Gentile 
Christians,  out  of  then-  condition  of  ignorance  re- 
garding "  the  law,"  have  entered  into  right  rela- 
tions with  God,  and  are  righteous  before  Him, 
through  the  act  of  faith. 

31.  which    followed    after  the    law.   R.V., 

"  following  after  a  law."  Israel  hoped,  that  is,  to 
secure  righteousness  through  law.  hath  not 
attained  .  .  .  righteousness.  R.V.,  "did  not 
arrive  at  that  law."     The  fact  is  that  Israel,  not 


Romans  ix.  30-x.  4  277 

Jewish  Christians,  but  the  people  as  a  whole  who 
have  rejected  Christ  and  still  pursue  the  ideal  of 
legal  righteousness,  have  no  right  relations  with 
God. 

32.  but  as  it  were  by  the  works  of  the  law. 
R.V.,  "  but  as  it  were  by  works."  The  failure  of 
Israel  (ver.  31)  is  traced  to  the  fact  that  clinging 
to  the  principle  of  law,  through  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  secure  righteousness,  they  neglect  faith, 
from  which  alone  it  can  arise.  It  would  be  better 
to  translate,  "  Because  not  from  faith,  but  as  if  it 
could  be  got  from  works  did  they  pursue  it."  For 
the  Apostle  means  that  the  latter  method  is  in- 
herently impossible.  R.V.  margin  suggests  another 
punctuation,  "  Because,  doing  it  not  by  faith,  but 
as  it  were  by  works,  they  stumbled."  For  they 
stumbled  at  that  stumblingstone.  R.V., 
"  They  stumbled  at  the  stone  of  stumbling "  (cf. 
xi.  9,  11).  The  offence  of  the  cross  is  frequently 
referred  to  (cf.  1  Cor.  i.  23).  The  word  for 
"stumbling"  means  that  they  recoiled  from  the 
act  of  faith  which  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified 
demanded  of  them. 

SS.  These  words  are  made  up  from  the  Greek 
translation  of  Isa.  xxviii.  l6  and  viii.  14.  In  their 
original  context  they  do  not  have  a  Messianic  re- 
ference, but  deal  directly  with  the  relations  of 
Jehovah  and  His  people  (cf.  x.  11).  In  1  Pet. 
ii.  6  the  words  are  similarly  quoted,  even  with  the 
same  variations  from  the  O.T.  Probably  both 
Paul  and  Peter  drew  them  from  some  other  source. 
The  word  "  stone "  had  been  freely  applied  by 
Jewish  writers  to  the  Messiah,  and  was  so  under- 
stood by  early  Christian  writers  (see  Sanday  and 
Headlam  in  loc). 


278   Westminster  New  Testament 

X.  1.  Brethren.  The  Apostle  pauses  to  express 
once  more  his  intense  emotion  at  the  situation 
which  he  is  discussing.  The  use  of  the  word  here, 
and  the  form  of  the  verse,  are  taken  as  one  of  the 
signs  or  proofs  that  the  letter  is  addressed  to  a 
Gentile  community  in  which  Jewish  members  may 
have  been  present  as  a  small  minority,  heart's 
desire.  R.V.  rnargin,  "  good  pleasure."  The  word 
so  translated  implies  that  the  Apostle  would  have 
very  great  satisfaction  in  seeing  Israel  reconciled 
to  God.  The  word,  however,  as  used  here,  must 
carry  with  it  the  feeling  of  an  intense  desire, 
especially  as  it  issues  in  earnest  "  supplication  to 
God  "  (R.V.). 

2.  For  I  bear  them  record.  R.V.,  "  witness." 

The  Apostle  knows  the  attitude  of  the  Jews, in 
their  hostility  to  the  gospel  thoroughly.  He  once 
felt  as  they  feel  and  judged  as  they  judge.  He 
knows  what  it  is  to  have  their  zeal  for  God  (Gal. 
i.  14),  and  perhaps  even  remembers  the  sinister 
side  of  that  zeal  (Gal.  iv.  17,  18).  His  desire  for 
their  conversion  is,  therefore,  intensified  rather 
than  lessened  by  a  deep  understanding  of,  and 
sympathy  with,  their  position,  knowledge  (cf. 
i.  28  ;  iii.  20).  The  use  of  the  strong  word  here 
would  suggest  that  they  did  have  a  certain  know- 
ledge, but  not  that  thorough  degree  of  acquaint- 
ance with  God  which  only  the  gospel  has  made 
possible. 

3.  Their  inadequate  knowledge  springs  from  the 
fact  that  they  do  not  know,  that  is,  do  not  possess, 
the  righteousness  of  God,  and  are  going  about 
"seeking  to  establish  their  own"  (R.V.).  The 
emphasis  here  is  on  these  last  words.  The  pride 
of  the  human  heart  drives  them  to  seek  righteous- 


Romans  x.  5-13  279 

ness  but  not  to  accept  it ;  to  glory  in  their  own 
achievement  and  not  in  that  act  by  which  God 
achieves  it  in  them  (cf.  iii.  21).  have  not 
submitted  themselves.  R.V.,  "they  did  not 
subject  themselves."  These  words  suggest  a 
stujjbornness  with  which  they  have  sought  to 
stand  on  their  own  feet  before  God^  instead  of 
kneeling  before  the  law  of  faith  which  He  has 
imposed  upon  mankind,  and  whose  operation  and 
issue  have  been  brought  to  light  in  Christ. 

4.  the  end  of  the  law.  In  the  Greek  these 
words  are  first,  and  are  most  emphatic.  The  coming 
of  Christ  has  put  an  end  to  law  ;  not  merely  the  law 
of  Moses,  but  the  very  principle  of  legalism ;  and 
Christ  has  swept  that  away  in  order  that  righteous- 
ness may  come  to  every  believer  and  to  him  alone. 
No  words  could  more  powerfully  express  the 
Apostle's  conviction  regarding  the  essence  of 
Christianity. 


(2)  The  principles  of  law  and  faith  (x.  5-13). 

5  For  Moses  describeth  the  righteousness  which  is  of  the  law, 
that  the  man  which  doeth  those  things  shall  live  by  them. 

6  But  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  speaketh  on  this 
wise,  Say  not  in  thine  heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven  ? 

7  (that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down  from  above  :)  or.  Who  shall 
descend  into  the  deep?  (that  is,  to  bring  up  Christ  again 

8  from  the  dead.)  But  what  saith  it?  The  word  is  nigh 
thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart :    that  is,  the 

9  word  of  faith,  which  we  preach ;  that  if  thou  shalt  confess 
with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine 
heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt 

10  be  saved.  For  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness  j  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 


28o   Westminster  New  Testament 

11  salvation.     For  the  Scripture  saith,  Whosoever  believeth  on 

12  him  shall  not  be  ashamed.     For   there   is   no   difference 
between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek  :  for  the  same  Lord  over 

13  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him.     For  whosoever  shall 
call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved. 

In  this  passage  the  Apostle  sets  forth  the  con- 
trast between  the  gospel  and  the  law  "  in  language 
drawn  from  the  O.T.  which  had  become  proverbial." 

5.  For  Moses  .  .  .  shall  live  by  them.  R.V., 
"  For  Moses  writeth  that  the  man  that  doeth  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  the  law  shall  live  there- 
by." Moses.  He  appeals,  as  in  ix.  15,  to  the 
supreme  authority  for  the  Jewish  mind  (see  Lev. 
xviii.  5;  cf.  Gal.  iii.  12).  shall  live  by  them. 
These  words  in  the  original  passage  refer  to  the 
statutes  and  judgments  there  set  forth,  but  R.V. 
rightly  restricts  them  to  ^Hhe  righteousness" 
which  is  the  central  word  of  the  sentence  as  Paul 
quotes  it.  Paul  assumes  the  impossibility  of 
attaining  righteousness  without  dependence  on 
God.  The  O.T.  religion  did,  of  course,  reveal 
God,  and  those  who  depended  upon  Him  were 
conscious  of  righteousness  before  Him,  as  psalmists 
and  prophets  abundantly  show. 

6,  7.  The  Apostle  in  these  verses  quotes  the 
well-known  phrases  found  in  Deut.  xxx.  11-14, 
with  a  phrase  found  in  Deut.  viii.  17,  ix.  4.  He 
does  not  cite  these  formally,  but  makes  free  literary 
use  of  them,  transferring  to  the  gospel  what  is 
there  uttered  in  reference  to  the  law  of  Jehovah, 
the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  speaketh 
on  this  wise.  R.V.,  ^^ saith  thus."  "Faith- 
righteousness  "  is,  as  it  were,  personified  and 
pictured  in  the  act  of  uttering  the  ancient  words. 


Romans  x.  5-13  281 

Say  not  in  thine  heart  (cf.  Deut.  viii.  11,  ix.  4). 
The  context  in  the  latter  passage  is  instructive. 
Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven?  .  .  .  Who 
shall  descend  into  the  deep?  R.V.,  "into  the 
abyss."  The  latter  phrase  the  Apostle  substitutes 
for  the  words  in  Deuteronomy,  "  He  will  go  over  to 
the  further  side  of  the  sea/'  adapting  them  to  his 
immediate  purpose.  On  "abyss/'  cf.  Luke  viii.  31  ; 
Rev.  ix.  1,  XX.  1,  3.  On  Christ's  descent  into 
Hades,  see  Acts  ii.  27 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  19,  iv.  6.  The 
Apostle  in  these  verses  pictures  faith -righteousness 
as  addressing  the  human  soul,  which  is  searching 
in  heaven  above  and  in  the  deep  below  for  the 
secret  of  righteousness  before  God.  He  means  to 
say  that  already  Christ  has  come  down ;  already 
Christ  has  been  raised  from  the  dead ;  already, 
that  is,  the  revelation  of  God  and  the  conquest  of 
death  have  become  facts  on  which  every  man's 
faith  may  fasten. 

8.  But  what  saith  it  ?  The  gospel,  which  is 
the  message  concerning  faith-righteousness,  an- 
nounces to  man  that  heaven  is  within  their  reach. 
The  quotation  is  from  Deut.  xxx.  14.  the  WOrd 
of  faith, — i.e.  the  message  concerning  faith. 

9.  that  if.  R. v.,  "because  if"  confess  with 
thy  mouth  the   Lord  Jesus.   R.V.,  "confess 

with  thy  mouth  Jesus  as  Lord  {inargin,  confess 
the  word  with  thy  mouth,  that  Jesus  is  Lord)." 
The  alternative  translation  of  R.V.  is  due  to  a 
difference  of  reading  in  the  Greek  text.  JeSUS  as 
Lord.  This  is  the  supreme  fact  for  the  Christian 
consciousness.  The  Apostle  in  this  and  the 
following  verse  does  not  mean  to  contrast  con- 
fession and  belief:  "the  antithesis  is  one  of  style" 
(B.  Jowett).     The  full  Christian  experience  requires 


282    Westminster  New  Testament 

both  the  inward  act  of  faith  and  the  outward 
expression  of  it.  God  hath  raised  him  (cf.  iv, 
24,  vi.  4  if.,  viii.  11). 

10.  unto  righteousness,  unto  salvation. 
His  belief  and  confession  (ver.  9)  are  two  aspects 
of  man's  new  relationship  towards  God.  So 
righteousness  and  salvation  are  two  aspects  of 
God's  action  upon  the  believer.  Righteousness 
refers  to  his  full  standing  before  God  ;  salvation  to 
his  full  deliverance  from  every  evil.  Each  of  them 
begins  here ;  each  of  them  is  consummated  at  the 
last  day. 

11.  Quoting  Isa.  xxviii.  l6.  (See  note  on 
Rom.  ix.  33.)  The  emphasis  here  is  on  the  word 
"  believeth  on  him."  Whosoever.  Lit.,  "  every 
one  who  believeth."  The  word  for  ''  every  one  " 
is  added  by  Paul  to  the  quotation  from  Isaiah. 

12.  The  Apostle  takes  up  the  idea  in  "whoso- 
ever" which  he  has  introduced  into  his  quotation, 
and  marks  it  as  characteristic  of  the  gospel,  no 
difference.  R.V.,  "no  distinction."  The  universal 
need  (cf.  iii.  22)  is  met  by  a  universal  grace,  for 
the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich.  R.V.,  "for  the 
same  Lord  is  Lord  of  all,  and  is  rich."  The  Lord 
here  is,  of  course,  Christ.  Frequently  in  the  N.T. 
this  title  is  given  to  Him  with  a  consciousness  that 
it  had  before  been  used  of  Jehovah  (cf.  2  Thess. 
1.  9;  1  Cor.  ii.  l6,  x.  21,  26;  2  Cor.  iii.  l6;  also 
Eph.  iv.  5 ;  Phil.  ii.  11,  etc.).  that  call  upon  him. 
In  the  O.T.  the  Jews  were  known  as  those  who 
"called  upon  Jehovah."  So  Christians  were  said 
to  "  call  upon  Christ,"  or  upon  His  name  (cf.  ii.  21, 
ix.  14,  21,  xxii.  l6;   1  Cor.  i.  2  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  22). 

13.  See  Joel  ii.  32.  The  reference  there  is  to 
the  remnant  of  Judah.     The   Apostle   applies   it 


Romans  x.  14-16  283 

universally,    the    Lord.    In  Joel  it  is,  of  course, 
Jehovah  ;  here  it  is  Christ. 


(3)  The  need  of  proclamation  (x.  14-16). 

14  How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have  not 
believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they 
have   not    heard  ?   and    how   shall   they   hear   without   a 

15  preacher?  and  how  shall  they  preach,  except  they  be 
sent  ?  as  it  is  written,  How  beautiftil  are  the  feet  of  them 
that  preach  the  gospel  of  peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of 

16  good  things !  But  they  have  not  all  obeyed  the  gospel. 
For  Esaias  saith,  Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report  "^ 

There  is  much  dispute  as  to  the  exact  connection 
of  this  passage  with  the  preceding  and  following 
verses.  For  a  moment  the  Apostle's  eye  seems 
to  catch  a  vision  of  the  world  waiting  for  the  call 
of  God,  ready  to  beUeve  when  they  have  heard 
the  message.  The  verses  read  like  an  emotional 
parenthesis. 

14.  One  word  in  each  question  leads  to  the  next. 
How  then  shall  they  call.  This  open  confession 
of  the  Lord  (ver.  10)  and  ^^call"  or  cry  of  dependence 
upon  Him  (ver.  13)  presupposes  faith,  but  faith 
presupposes  a  message  delivered,  and  the  message 
a  preacher,  and  the  preacher  presupposes  one  who 
sends. 

15.  The  Apostle  ends  this  linked  series  of 
questions  by  quoting  Isa.  lii.  7.  R.V.  omits  the 
words  ^'  preach  the  gospel  of  peace,  and,"  which 
may  have  been  inserted  by  a  copyist  to  complete 
the  quotation,  glad  tidings  of  good  things. 
R.V.  margin  reads  "  a  gospel  of  good  things." 

16.  But   they   have   not   all   obeyed  the 


284   Westminster  New  Testament 

gospel.  R.V.,  "  But  they  did  not  all  hearken  to 
the  glad  tidings  (jnargi7i,  gospel)."  The  Apostle, 
in  quoting  Isaiah's  enthusiastic  words,  remembers 
the  sad  ones  which  follow  (Isa.  liii.  1),  in  which, 
according  to  the  received  interpretation,  the 
Prophet  mourns  over  the  scant  attention  given  to 
the  subject  of  the  prophetic  message.  The  Apostle 
cites  the  words  as  having  a  parallel  in  the  present 
rejection  of  the  gospel  by  the  Jews. 

(4)  The  rejection  by  Israel  (x.  17-21). 

17  So  then  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word 

18  of  God.  But  I  say,  Have  they  not  heard?  Yes  verily, 
their  sound  went  into  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  unto 

19  the  ends  of  the  world.  But  I  say,  Did  not  Israel  know? 
First  Moses  saith,  I  will  provoke  you  to  jealousy  by  them 
that  are  no  people,  and  by  a  foolish  nation  1  will  anger  you. 

20  But  Esaias  is  very  bold,  and  saith,  /  was  found  of  them 
that  sought  i7ie  not ;  I  was  made  manifest  unto  them  that 

21  asked  not  after  me.     But  to  Israel  he  saith,  All  day  long  I 
have  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto  a  disobedient  and  gain 
saying  people. 

The  three  preceding  verses  have  emphasized  the 
idea  of  proclamation  and  hearing  of  the  gospel. 
The  Apostle  now  returns  to  his  main  subject  more 
explicitly.  He  has  described  the  contrast  between 
legalism  and  faith.  He  now  deals  with  the  fact 
that  faith  has  been  rejected. 

17.  This  verse  catches  up  the  phrase  of  ver.  8, 
"  the  word  about  faith  which  we  preach,"  and 
makes  its  assertion  a  fresh  starting-point  for 
exposure  of  the  guilt  of  Israel.  So  then  faith 
cometh  by  hearing.  H.V.,  "So  belief  cometh." 
and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God.   R.V., "  by 


Romans  x.  17-21  285 

the  word  of  Christ."  When  that  message  is 
delivered,  and  men  hear  with  the  heart,  faith 
arises.  The  R.V.  use  of  "belief"  here  is  unfor- 
tunate. 

18.  But  I  say,  Have  they  not  heard?  R.V., 
"Did  they  not  hear.^"  We  must  note  the  vigour 
of  the  Apostle's  challenge  and  of  his  answer.  He 
cries  out — "  Did  I  mean  to  say  that  they  did  not 
hear  the  gospel  preached  ?  "  "  Yes,  indeed,  they 
have  heard,"  is  his  reply.  The  quotation  is  from 
Ps.  xix.  4  (Gr.  trans.),  where  the  words  refer,  of 
course,  to  nature  and  her  universal  witness  to  the 
glory  of  the  Creator.  The  Apostle  must  not  be 
interpreted  as  meaning  that  the  words  were  meant 
originally  to  apply  to  the  gospel  (cf.  note  on 
Rom.  i.  8).  He  has  the  right  of  every  man  with 
an  instinct  for  the  uses  of  literature  to  adapt  the 
charm  of  that  Psalm  regarding  nature  to  the  new 
world  opened  up  by  the  gospel. 

19.  Did  not  Israel  know?  R.V.,  "Did  Israel 
not  know  ?  "  Israel.  All  through  Paul  has  been 
thinking  of  the  Jews,  though  he  has  not  named 
them  since  ix.  31  and  x.  1.  He  meets  the  state- 
ment that  Israel  did  not  really  understand  the 
message  of  God,  but  he  repels  the  idea  rather  by 
tone  and  implication  than  by  explicit  argument. 
The  following  quotations  do  not  fairly  face  the 
problem,  but  they  do  bring  out  both  the  presence 
of  a  definite  control  in  Israel's  history  and  the  fact 
of  Israel's  guilt.  There  is  a  form  of  ignorance  for 
which  a  man  is  not  responsible.  Some  ignor- 
ance, however,  flows  from  the  heart  and  will, 
and  involves  the  consciousness  of  guilt.  Yet 
cf.  1  Tim.  i.  13.  First  MoseS.  The  quotation  is 
from  Deut.  xxxii.  21.      Note   the  introduction  of 


286   Westminster  New  Testament 

the  idea  that  the  Divine  mercy  to  other  nations 
will  arouse  a  spirit  of  "jealousy  "  and  anger  among 
the  Jews.  The  people  they  had  despised  will 
rebuke  them  by  the  superiority  of  their  loyalty  to 
God.  This  word  will  recur  in  chap.  xi.  It  is 
deliberately  quoted  here  because  the  Apostle  is 
going  to  make  it  one  of  the  important  turning- 
points  in  his  argument. 

20.  But  Esaias  is  very  bold.  R.V.,  "And 
Isaiah  is  very  bold."  These  words  were  originally 
applied  to  the  unfaithful  in  Israel.  Here,  the 
Apostle  extends  their  sweep  to  the  Gentiles  who, 
all  unconscious  of  his  revelation  in  the  past,  will 
suddenly  find  themselves  in  its  full  light  through 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 

21.  But  to  Israel  he  saith.  R.V.,  "But  as  to 
Israel  he  saith."  In  contrast  with  what  above  is 
described  as  the  hope  of  the  Gentiles,  the  terrible 
words  of  Isa.  Ixv.  2  are  applied  to  the  chosen 
people.  They  describe  God  as  standing  in  an 
attitude  of  great  sorrow,  His  pleading  and  the 
offer  of  His  love  rejected  (cf.  Matt,  xxiii.  37). 

In  this  chapter  it  is  evident  that  the  Apostle 
has  proceeded  on  a  line  absolutely  inconsistent 
with  the  argument  of  chap.  ix.  Here,  he  lays 
the  responsibility  for  their  condition  wholly  upon 
the  will  of  human  beings.  He  treats  the  delivery 
of  the  message  concerning  Christ  as  a  full  oppor- 
tunity for  every  man  to  enter  into  righteousness 
and  to  inherit  salvation,  but  without  mitigation 
lays  the  responsibility  for  neglect  upon  the  man 
who  makes  himself  deaf  to  that  message.  Here, 
there  is  no  word  about  God  hardening  men's 
hearts,  but  rather  of  His  pleading  with  them.  Here, 
human  nature  is  not  described  as  clay  in  the  hands 


Romans  xi.  287 

of  the  potter^  but  rather  m  the  dignity  of  a  power 
which  can  reject  God.  The  Apostle  neither  here 
nor  in  the  succeeding  chapter  attempts  to  reconcile 
these  two  positions.  They  are  inherent  in  the 
nature  of  man  and  of  God^  and  in  their  mutual 
relations.  And  a  pious  soul  will  always  find  that 
relief  is  to  be  found  not  in  ignoring  one  and 
emphasizing  only  the  other  element  in  this  situation, 
but  rather  in  giving  full  meaning  to  each.  The 
Pauline  man  is  he  who  without  any  sense  of  contra- 
diction knows  how  to  cast  himself  wholly  upon  God, 
and  yet  how  to  take  upon  himself  the  responsibility 
of  that  very  act. 

Rom.  xi. 

3.  THE  SIN  OF  ISRAEL  AND  THE  DIVINE 
GRACE. 

In  this  chapter  the  Apostle  restates  the  whole 
case.  Having  written  in  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
chapter  (vers.  1-13)  as  if  Israel  had  indeed  been 
rejected  ;  having  rested  their  fate  upon  the  will  of 
God  (vers.  14-29);  having  then  asserted  with  equal 
vigour  the  responsibility  of  Israel  for  the  hardening 
which  had  come  to  them,  he  now  reopens  the 
original  question  (ver.  1)  and  takes  issue  with  his 
own  previous  assumption.  He  asserts  that  God 
has  not  rejected  Israel,  but  in  pursuance  of  his  age- 
long plan  has  reserved  for  himself  a  remnant  of 
the  race  (vers.  1-10).  Having  taken  this  strong 
position,  the  Apostle  then  develops  one  of  the  most 
surprising  thoughts  in  the  whole  history  of  theo- 
logical thought,  one  whose  far-reaching  significance 
our  minds  are  not  yet  able  to  grasp.  The  principle 
which  he  discovers  both  in  the   Scripture  and  in 


288   Westminster  New  Testament 

his  very  conception  of  the  grace  of  God  is,  that 
even  the  rejection  of  a  people  may  become  an 
instrument  of  grace.  It  is  through  the  rejection 
of  Israel  that  the  Gentiles  are  now  receiving  the 
gospel  (vers.  1 1-24).  But  if  this  is  the  case,  then 
the  next  step,  not  less  startling,  not  less  thrilling, 
may  be  fearlessly  taken,  namely,  that  if  the  re- 
jection is  instrumental,  then  it  must  be  also 
temporary ;  that,  if  Israel  stumbles  in  order  that 
the  Gentiles  may  be  admitted  into  the  kingdom, 
the  receiving  of  the  Gentiles  must  react  upon  the 
position  of  those  who  had  stumbled.  They  shall 
be  also  included  in  the  universal  mercy  of  God 
(vers.  25-32).  It  seems  natural  to  find  at  the 
close  of  this  sublime  stretch  of  thought  one  of  the 
most  powerful  outbursts  of  praise  in  the  Apostle's 
writings.  The  wonder  of  God's  wisdom  has  broken 
upon  his  vision  and  he  can  do  naught  but  adore  the 
majesty  of  his  God  (vers.  3S-36). 


(i)  The  remnant  and  the  rejection  (xi.  i-io). 

1  I  say  then,  Hath  God  cast  away  his  people  ?  God  forbid. 
For  I  also  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  of  the 

2  tribe  of  Benjamin.  God  hath  not  cast  away  his  people 
which  he  foreknew.  Wot  ye  not  what  the  Scripture  saith 
of  Elias  ?  how  he  maketh  intercession  to  God  against  Israel, 

3  saying.  Lord,  they  have  killed  thy  prophets ,  and  digged  down 
thine  altars ;  and  I  am  left  alone,  and  they  seek  my  life. 

4  But  what  saith  the  answer  of  God  unto  him?  /  have 
reserved  to  myself  seven  thousand  men,  who  have  not  botved 

5  the  knee  to  the  image  of  Baal.  Even  so  then  at  this 
present  time  also   there   is   a   remnant  according   to   the 

6  election  of  grace.  And  if  by  grace,  then  is  it  no  more  of 
works  :  otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace.     But  if  it  be  of 


Romans  xi.  i-io  289 

works,  then    is    it    no    more    grace :    otherwise  work  is 

7  no  more  work.  What  then?  Israel  hath  not  obtained 
that   which  he   seeketh   for  ;    but   the  election   hath   ob- 

8  tained  it,  and  the  rest  were  blinded  (According  as  it  is 
written,  God  hath  given  them  the  spirit  of  sln?fiber,  eyes 
that  they  should  not  see,   and  ears  that  they  should  not 

9  hear;)  unto  this  day.  And  David  saith,  Let  their  table  be 
made  a  s?zare,  and  a  trap,  and  a  stu?nblingblock,  and  a  re- 

10  compence  unto  them :  let  their  eyes  be  darkened,  that  they 
may  not  see,  and  bow  dowti  their  back  alway. 

1.  I  say  then.  With  these  words  the  Apostle 
introduces  his  reconstruction  of  the  whole  case. 
But  he  puts  the  question  in  a  peculiar  form,  the 
meaning  of  which  is  brought  out  not  by  a  literal 
translation^  such  as  that  of  R.V.  {"  Did  God  cast  off 
his  people?"),  but  in  this  way,  "God  has  not 
cast  off  his  people,  has  he  ? "  With  a  "  God 
forbid  "  the  Apostle  refuses  to  consider  that  with 
the  Lord  there  is  any  breaking  of  His  repeated 
pledges  (Ps.  xii.  22,  xciv.  14,  xcv.  4).  For  I 
also,  etc.  Paul  does  not  offer  himself  as  a  proof 
that  God  has  not  cast  of!  His  people,  which  would 
look  like  arrogance.  This  personal  statement  is 
closely  linked  with  the  form  of  the  question  noted 
above.  Both  question  and  answer  are  expressed  in 
an  emotional  atmosphere.  "  I  who  am  one  of  the 
sons  of  Israel  cannot  think  that  God  is  unfaithful." 
It  is  his  consciousness  as  a  child  of  the  ancient 
covenant  that  forbids  him  to  think  that  God  has 
cast  off  His  people  (cf.  Phil.  iii.  5). 

2.  God  has  not  cast  away.  R.V.,  "  God  did 
not  cast  off."  foreknew  (cf.  viii.  29).  Having 
formed  His  Divine  purpose  concerning  His  people, 
God  will  not  be  unfaithful  to  Himself  by  abandon- 

19 


290   Westminster  New  Testament 

ing  them.  Wot  ye  not?  R.V.,  "Or  wot  ye 
not."  Do  you  not  understand  the  implication  of 
the  Scriptures?  of  Elias.  R.V.,  "of  Elijah.^' 
The  R.V.  margin  is  right  to  suggest  "in  Elijah." 
The  O.T.  Scriptures  were  divided  into  sections 
which  were  known  and  cited  by  their  subjects. 
The  Apostle  means  here — Do  you  not  understand 
what  was  contained  in  the  section  concerning 
Elijah?  The  reference  is  to  1  Kings  xix.  10,  14, 
where  Elijah  pleads  in  his  great  dejection  on  Mount 
Horeb,  before  Jehovah. 

4.  the  answer  of  God.  The  Greek  word  so 
translated  means  "  an  oracle/'  especially  one  which 
conveys  monition  (cf.  Matt.  ii.  12,  22;  Luke  ii. 
26;  Acts  X.  22;  Heb.  viii.  5,  xi.  7,  xii.  25).  I 
have  reserved  to  myself.  R.V.,  "  I  have  left  for 
myself."  The  word  "myself"  is  here  added  to  the 
Greek  translation  by  the  Apostle,  who  have  not 
bowed.  These  words  show  that  this  remnant  to 
whom  the  Lord  refers  are  a  remnant  in  that  they 
had  been  faithful  to  him. 

5.  Here  the  crucial  statement  is  made.  A 
similar  condition  exists  as  the  Apostle  writes,  for 
once  again  the  will  of  Jehovah  has  been  manifested 
in  Jesus  as  of  old  in  Elijah  ;  while  the  great  mass 
reject  him,  there  are  those  who  bow  before  this 
revelation  of  the  Divine  will.  This  remnant,  the 
Apostle  means  to  say,  has  always  been  the  heart 
of  Israel's  history.  It  is  through  the  minority  of 
every  generation  who  lived  in  faith  and  obedience 
that  the  history  of  grace  has  continued,  according 
to  the  election  (cf.  for  this  word  ix.  1 1,  xi.  7,  28  ; 
2  Thess.  i.  4 ;  2  Pet.  i.  10). 

6.  And  if  by  grace.  R.V.,  "  But  if  it  is  by 
grace."     If  this   remnant   consists   of  those   who 


Romans  xi.  i-io  291 

deserve  by  their  works  the  favour  of  God,  then 
their  standing  before  Him  is  not  of  grace  but  of 
debt  (of.  iv.  4).  In  that  case  the  whole  hope 
which  the  existence  of  a  remnant  gives  is  wrecked, 
for  who  knows  how  long  such  desert  will  last  ? 
There  is  more  hope  if  we  depend  upon  the  Divine 
grace  and  not  upon  human  merit.  But  if  it  be 
.  '  .  no  more  works.  This  second  half  of  ver.  6 
R.V.  rightly  omits. 

7.  This  principle  is  proved  in  the  fact  that  Israel 
was  set  upon  righteousness  by  works  and  failed. 
And  yet  righteousness  which  the  mass  missed  has 
descended  upon  "the  election/'  that  is  the  inner 
group,  the  living  heart  of  Israel,  through  which  the 
history  of  grace  proceeds,  were  blinded.  R.V., 
"were  hardened."  The  Apostle  does  not  say  by 
whom  this  hardening  was  wrought.  As  in  Pharaoh's 
case  he  leaves  it  indefinite  (cf.  ix.  23).  What  is 
God's  act  is  man's,  and  the  act  of  man  is  God's  act. 
A  man  hardens  his  heart  by  unbelief;  God  hardens 
his  heart  in  his  unbelief. 

8.  God  hath  given  them  a  spirit  of  slumber. 

R.V.,  "God  gave  them  a  spirit  of  stupor."  This 
verse  is  made  up  from  familiar  language  in  Isa. 
xxix.  10;  Deut.  xxix.  4  ;  Isa.  vi.  9,  10.  untO  this 
day.  R.V.,  "unto  this  very  day."  The  Apostle 
means  that  what  was  true  of  Israel  in  the  days  of 
the  prophets  was  true  in  his  own.  The  character  of 
the  general  mass  had  not  changed  (cf.  Matt.  v. 
12,  xxiii.  29-39;  Acts  vii.  51).  With  the  words 
from  Isa.  vi.  10  cf.  Matt.  xiii.  14,  15  ;  John  xii.  40. 

9.  10.  This  quotation  is  from  Ps.  Ixix.  22,  23- 
The  same  passage  is  referred  to  Luke  xxi.  34.  The 
points  involved  in  the  citation  are  :  (1)  The  people's 
careless  self-indulgence,  (2)  the  sudden  retribution 


292   Westminster  New  Testament 

which  takes  the  form  (3)  of  deserved  recompense. 
(4)  This  results  in  spiritual  incapacity  and  (5)  in 
distress  under  the  burdens  of  the  soul.  For  the 
idea  of  a  sudden  retribution^  cf.  1  Thess.  v.  2  fF.  ; 
2  Pet.  iii.  10;  Rev.  iii.  3,  xvi.  15. 


(2)  The  rejection  as  an  instrument  of  grace  (xi.  11-24). 

11  I  say  then,  Have  they  stumbled  that  they  should  fall? 
God  forbid  :  but  rather  through  their  fall  salvation  is  come 
unto  the  Gentiles,  for  to  provoke  them  to  jealousy.     Now 

12  if  the  fall  of  them  be  the  riches  of  the  world,  and  the 
diminishing  of  them  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles  ;  how  much 

13  more  their  fulness  ?  For  I  speak  to  you  Gentiles,  inasmuch 
as  I  am  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I  magnify  mine  office  : 

14  if  by  any  means  I  may  provoke  to  emulation  them  which 

15  are  my  flesh,  and  might  save  some  of  them.  For  if  the 
casting  away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what 
shall  the  receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from  the  dead  ? 

16  For  if  the  firstfruit  be  holy,  the  lump  is  also  holy  :  and  if 

17  the  root  be  holy,  so  are  the  branches.  And  if  some  of  the 
branches  be  broken  off,  and  thou,  being  a  wild  olive  tree, 
wert  graffed  in  among  them,  and  with  them  partakest  of 

18  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  olive  tree  ;  boast  not  against 
the  branches.     But  if  thou  boast,  thou  bearest  not  the  root, 

19  but   the   root    thee.     Thou  wilt  say  then,   The  branches 

20  were  broken  off",  that  I  might  be  graffed  in.  Well ;  because 
of  unbelief  they  were  broken  off,  and  thou  standest  by 

21  faith.  Be  not  highminded,  but  fear :  for  if  God  spared 
not  the  natural  branches,  take  heed  lest  he  also  spare  not 

22  thee.  Behold  therefore  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God  : 
on  them  which  fell,  severity ;  but  toward  thee,  goodness, 
if  thou  continue  in  his  goodness  :  otherwise  thou  also  shalt 

23  be  cut  off.  And  they  also,  if  they  abide  not  still  in  un- 
belief, shall  be  graffed  in  :  for  God  is  able  to  graff"  them  in 

24  again.     For  if  thou  wert  cut  out  of  the  olive  tree  which  is 


Romans  xi.  1 1-24  293 

wild  by  nature,  and  wert  graffed  contrary  to  nature  into  a 
good  olive  tree  ;  how  much  more  shall  these,  which  be  the 
natural  branches,  be  graffed  into  their  own  olive  tree  ? 

11.  Have  they  stumbled  that  they  should 
fall?  R.V.,  ^^Did  they  stumble  that  they  might 
fall  ?  "  Starting  once  more  with  a  question,  the 
Apostle  asks  whether  Israel  has  only  stumbled  or 
utterly  fallen  to  destruction.  (The  Greek  word  for 
stumble  here  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  word 
for  "  stumblingblock "    above,  ver.    9.)     He  flings 

the  thought  away,    but  rather  through  their 

fall.  R.V.,  ''  but  by  their  fall  (inargin,  trespass)." 
jealousy.  Catching  up  the  suggestion  (ix.  19)  of 
Moses,  the  Apostle  asserts  that  the  false  step  which 
Israel  has  taken  has  been  the  historical  means 
by  which  the  gospel  reached  the  Gentiles.  The 
good  fortune  of  the  Gentiles  may  therefore  be 
expected  to  react  upon  Israel,  arousing  them  to 
what  he  calls  "jealousy."  What  the  Apostle 
means  is  exactly  illustrated  in  Acts  xi.  18,  xv. 
7-11  and,  from  his  own  experience,  Acts  xiii.  46  ff., 
xviii.  12ff,  xxviii.  25-28.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the 
word  "trespass"  was  not  put  in  the  text  by 
R.V.,  as  the  word  translated  "fall,"  in  the  question, 
is  not  the  same  as  that  translated  "  fall "  here  and 
in  ver.  12. 

12.  Now  if  the  fall  of  them.  R.V.,  "Now  if 
their  fall."  and  the  diminishing-  of  them.  R.  V., 
"  and  their  loss."  This  word  is  one  of  considerable 
difficulty.  It  is  best,  however,  to  refer  it  to  the 
small  number  of  those  who  believed,  and  not  to 
either  their  lost  estate  or  their  sense  of  loss. 
riches.  In  both  cases  this  must  refer  to  the 
spiritual  wealth   of  the    kingdom  of  God.     how 


294   Westminster  New  Testament 

much  more  their  fulness  ?  The  Apostle  means 
to  ask,  if  a  remnant,  a  small  number  of  Israelites, 
have  by  their  faith  brought  many  Gentiles  into 
the  light  and  spread  it  through  the  world,  what 
may  we  expect  if  all  Israel  should  believe  ? 

13.  For  I  speak  to  you  Gentiles.  R.V., «  But 
I  speak  to  you  that  are  Gentiles."  Another  of  the 
indications  that  the  church  at  Rome  consisted 
mainly  of  Gentiles.  The  punctuation  in  R.V. 
differs  from  that  of  A.  V.,  beginning  a  new  sentence 
with  "  inasmuch  "  and  reading  "  Inasmuch  then  as 
I  am  an  apostle  of  Gentiles,  I  glorify  my  ministry." 
The  emphasis  here  in  the  original  is  on  the  word 
"  I."  Paul  speaks  in  the  full  consciousness  of 
his  appointment  by  the  Lord  Himself  to  bring  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentile  world. 

14.  provoke  to  emulation.  R.V.,"  to  jealousy." 
He  considers  that  his  Gentile  mission  is  part  of 
that  plan  of  God  by  which  at  last  his  own  people 
are  to  be  saved  (cf.  above,  ver.  11).  and  might 
save  some  of  them.  R.V.,  "and  may  save." 
(Cf.  for  this  careful  statement  1  Cor.  ix.  22.)  The 
Apostle  has  learned  how  hard  must  be  the  task  if 
all  are  to  be  saved. 

15.  the  casting  away  of  them, — that  is,  the 
rejection  of  Israel,  because  Israel  rejected  Jesus 
the  Messiah,  reconciling  (cf.  2  Cor.  v.  19). 
The  act  of  God  in  Christ  is  realized  through  the 
work  of  man  in  His  name.  The  latter  is  a  real 
part  of  the  plan  of  God,  resting,  however,  always 
upon  the  work  of  God  accomplished  once  for  all 
in  His  Son.  life  from  the  dead.  This  does  not 
mean  "  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day "  (John 
xi.  24),  nor  is  it  satisfactory  to  consider  it "  a  descrip- 
tion of  unimaginable  blessing  "  (Denney) ;  rather 


Romans  xi.  11-24  295 

should  we  connect  the  phrase  with  the  ideas  which 
rule  in  vi.  1-11. 

16.  From  "  the  fathers'  sake "  in  ver.  28  we 
conclude  that  the  reference  in  the  words  "  first- 
fruit  "  and  "  root "  is  to  the  patriarchs  who  were 
the  founders  of  Israel's  religious  history.  (On 
"firstfruit"  and  ^^lump/'  cf.  Num.  xv.  19,  20.) 
As  the  offering  of  the  firstfruits  sanctified  the 
whole  mass,  so  the  holiness  of  their  fathers  sancti- 
fied their  descendants. 

17.  At  this  point  the  Apostle  breaks  off  to  use  a 
very  striking  and  instructive  illustration  drawn  from 
the  culture  of  the  olive  tree.  And  if  some.  R.V., 
^•'But  if  some."  For  ^^graffed  in"  R.V.  always 
reads  "  grafted  in."  He  likens  the  receiving  of 
the  Gentiles  into  the  kingdom  and  to  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  patriarchs  to  the  process  by  which  the 
branch  of  a  wild  olive  should  be  grafted  into  the 
cultivated  tree.  This  is  contrary  to  the  custom, 
for  it  is  a  branch  of  a  cultivated  tree  that  is  grafted 
upon  the  wild  stock.  But  he  uses  the  reverse 
process  to  emphasize  the  unexpected  or  miraculous 
nature  of  God's  grace  to  the  Gentiles,  with 
them  partakest  of  the  root  and  fatness  of 
the  olive  tree.  R. V.,  "  didst  become  partaker  with 
them  of  the  root  of  the  fatness  of  the  olive  tree 
{inargin,  of  the  root  and  of  the  fatness)." 

18.  Boast  not  against.  R.V./^  glory  not  over." 
The  Apostle  is  most  anxious  to  prevent  the 
Gentiles  from  assuming  an  attitude  of  superiority 
to  the  Jews.  He  reminds  them  that  "  salvation  is 
of  the  Jews  "  (cf.  John  iv.  22).  History  has  shown 
the  abundant  need  for  this  humbling  of  the 
Gentile  spirit  towards  the  race  from  which  the 
world's  hope  has  sprung. 


296   Westminster  New  Testament 

19.  Paul  seems  to  overhear  the  argument  of 
incipient  pride  asserting  that  it  is  God  that  has 
cast  the  Jew  away  for  the  Gentiles'  sake. 

20.  Well.  The  Apostle  hardly  stops  to  argue 
the  pointy  hurrying  to  the  heart  of  the  matter, 
which  is  that  unbelief  caused  the  desolation  of 
the  Jews  and  faith  is  the  standing  ground  of  the 
Gentiles.  But  who  that  has  a  living  faith  boasts, 
or  who  that  knows  the  sin  of  unbelief  glories  over 
it  ?  Contrary  wise,  the  Gentile  must  repel  all  high- 
mindedness  and  live  in  reverential  fear,  which  must 
be  a  constant  characteristic  of  true  faith. 

21.  take  heed  lest,  etc  R.V.,  "neither  will 
he  spare  thee."  If  God  has  visited  with  judgment 
the  rebellion  of  Israel,  the  Gentiles  cannot  hope  to 
be  treated  with  tolerance  if  they  fail  where  Israel 
failed. 

22.  He  recalls  them  to  the  double  aspect  of 
the  Divine  character — goodness  and  severity. 
The  latter  word  only  occurs  here  in  N.T.,  and 
suggests  the  idea  of  a  cutting  away  or  "severing." 

towards  thee,  goodness.   R.V.,  "toward  thee, 

God's  goodness."  To  continue  in  humble  depend- 
ence on  this  goodness  of  God  is  the  only  shelter 
from  His  severity.  To  judge  the  Jew  and  act 
towards  him  as  if  the  Gentile  had  goodness  from 
another  source  is  to  lose  it,  and  the  only  result  of 
such  loss  is  that  terrible  cutting-off. 

23.  if  they  abide  not  still  in  unbelief.  R.V., 
"  if  they  continue  not  in  their  unbelief."  For  the 
latter  we  may  read  "unless  they  continue  in  their 
unbelief."  Paul,  looking  into  the  future,  sees  the 
might  of  God  (God  is  able)  exerted  upon  the 
broken  life  of  Israel.  He  does  not  consider  their 
unbelief  as  final,  nor  God's  punishment  upon  them 


Romans  xi.  25-32  297 

as  irreversible.  No  state  of  unbelief  that  we  can 
measure  or  discuss  in  human  terms  can  be  considered 
as  final. 

24.  We  have  here  a  further  humbling  of  the 
Gentile  spirit  and  brightening  of  the  Jewish 
prospect.  The  emphasis  is  once  more  upon  the 
idea  that  the  Gentile,  (R.V.)  "  by  nature  a  wild 
olive  tree,  was  grafted  in "  contrary  to  nature. 
It  was  by  a  miracle  of  Divine  wisdom  and  grace 
that  the  Gentiles  were  saved.  How  much  more, 
he  exclaims,  may  we  expect  that  the  natural 
branches,  these  that  belong  to  the  tree  and  were 
cut  off,  should  be  by  the  same  wisdom  and  grace 
restored  to  their  position  and  their  privilege. 

(3)  The  rejection  temporary,  mercy  final  (xi.  25-32). 

25  For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of 
this  mystery,  lest  ye  should  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits  ; 
that  blindness  in  part  is  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  ful- 

26  nessofthe  Gentiles  be  come  in.  And  so  all  Israel  shall 
be  saved  :  as  it  is  written,  There  shall  cojue  out  of  Sion 
the   Deliverer,    and    shall  turn   away    ungodliness  from 

27  Jacob :  for  this  is  my  covenant  unto  them,   when  I  shall 

28  take  away  their  sins.  As  concerning  the  gospel,  they 
are  enemies  for  your  sakes  ;  but  as  touching  the  election 

29  they  are  beloved  for  the  fathers'  sakes.     For  the  gifts  and 

30  calling  of  God  are  without  repentance.  For  as  ye  in  times 
past  have  not  believed  God,  yet  have  now  obtained  mercy 

31  through  their  unbelief:  even  so  have  these  also  now  not 
believed,   that  through  your  mercy  they  also  may  obtain 

32  mercy.  For  God  hath  concluded  them  all  in  unbelief,  that 
he  might  have  mercy  upon  all. 

In  these  verses  the  Apostle  sums  up  the  matter 
afresh,  but  now  abandoning  the  process  of  almost 


298   Westminster  New  Testament 

abstract  reasoning  he  treats  the  matter  as  one 
of  revelation.  Very  solemnly  he  introduces  this 
part. 

25.   For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that  ye 
should  be  ignorant   of  this  mystery,   R.V., 

"have  you  ignorant  of  this  mystery."  This  is 
a  formal  and  solemn  call  which  the  Apostle  uses 
on  various  occasions  demanding  special  atten- 
tion of  his  readers  to  the  following  statements 
(of.  Rom  i.  13;  1  Thess.  iv.  13;  1  Cor.  x.  1, 
xii.  1 ;  2  Cor.  i.  8).  this  mystery.  This  word 
was  taken  from  the  language  of  Greek  religious 
thought.  The  mysteries  of  heathen  religions  were 
occasions  or  sources  of  revelation  or  illumination, 
and  the  elaborate  stages  by  which  persons  passed 
through  processes  of  initiation  until  they  were  fit 
to  receive  the  mystery  must  have  become  familiar 
to  the  mind  of  the  Apostle  Paul  in  his  discussions 
with  many  inquirers.  Several  words  connected 
with  the  religious  mysteries  occur  in  his  letters : 
initiation,  Phil.  iv.  12;  sealing,  Eph.  i.  13;  per- 
fection, Col.  i.  28  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  6.  The  mystery  is 
referred  to  in  various  connections  by  the  Apostle  ; 
Eph.  i.  9,  iii.  S,  4;  Col.  i.  26,  27,  etc.  The 
Apostle  considers,  then,  that  the  doctrine  he  has 
just  been  stating  belongs  to  the  very  revelation 
of  the  mind  of  God.  He  does  not  give  us  any 
hint  as  to  how  he  has  received  this  revelation. 
What  he  is  sure  of  is  that  blindness  in  part  is 
happened  to  Israel  (R.V.,  "  that  a  hardening  in 
part  hath  befallen  Israel").  He  recognizes  that 
this  casting  away  of  Israel  applies  only  to  a  portion 
of  the  race.  He  further  repeats  that  it  will  last 
only  until  the  Gentiles  as  a  whole  have  been 
brought  into  the  faith. 


Romans  xi.  25-32  299 

26.  And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved.  We 

can  imagine  the  leap  of  his  heart  as  the  Apostle 
wrote  those  words^  his  mind  mounting  to  a  great 
confidence  in  the  unchangeable  and  glorious  purpose 
of  God.  He  establishes  and  supports  it  in  a 
quotation  from  Isa.  lix.  20  ;  the  final  clause  from 
Isa.  xxvii.  9-  The  words  indicate  the  unchanged 
will  of  God,  who  will  not  allow  His  purpose  to  be 
broken  but  holds  Himself  to  His  covenant,  even 
though  it  involves  the  sublime  act  of  forgiving 
their  unfaithfulness  to  Him.  On  covenant,  see 
notes  on  Gal.  iii.  15;  also  1  Cor.  xi.  25;  Matt, 
xxvi.  28.  It  is  one  of  the  great  facts  discussed 
in  Epistle  to  Hebrews. 

28.  As  concerning  the  gospel.  R.V.,  ^'As 
touching  the  gospel."  A  simple  statement  of 
God's  attitude  towards  the  Jews.  He  treats  them 
at  present  as  enemies  so  far  as  the  gospel  is 
concerned,  but  this  is  for  the  sake  of  the  Gentiles. 
On  the  other  hand,  He  treats  them  as  beloved 
so  far  as  that  great  act  of  election  is  concerned, 
and  that  in  faithfulness  to  the  fathers.  He  is  still, 
as  Jesus  said,  the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac 
and  of  Jacob  (Luke  xx.  37,  38). 

29.  Cf.  2  Cor.  vii.  10.    without  repentance. 

R.V.  margin,  ''^not  repented  of."  A  sublime  state- 
ment concerning  the  absolute  faithfulness  of  God. 
The  gifts  must  refer  to  the  privileges  of  Israel. 
He  will  not  depose  them  finally  from  their  place 
of  honour.  The  calling  refers,  of  course,  to  the 
Divine  selection  of  that  race,  not  merely  for 
privilege,  but  for  the  service  of  the  world,  as  this 
whole  passage  describes. 

30.  31.  For  as  ye  in  times  past  have  not 
believed  {marg'm,  "  obeyed  ")  God.    R.V.,  "  were 


300   Westminster  New  Testament 

disobedient  to  God."  through  their  unbelief. 
R.V.,  "by  their  disobedience."  Here  we  have  a 
specific  ground  given  for  the  assertion  in  ver.  29- 
These  verses  wind  up  the  whole  argument  of  the 
chapter.  The  past  sins  of  the  Gentiles  do  not 
prevent  God's  mercy  from  reaching  them ;  but  it 
did  as  a  matter  of  historical  fact  come  through 
the  disobedience  of  the  Jews  in  rejecting  Christ. 
Now,  just  as  mercy  overtook  the  disobedient 
Gentiles  so  may  we  be  sure  that  the  revelation 
of  the  quality  of  mercy  in  their  experience  will 
react  upon  Israel  and  include  them  also  within 
its  embrace. 
32.  For  God  hath  concluded  them  all  in 

unbelief  {margin,  "shut  them  all  up  together"). 
R.V.,  "  For  God  hath  shut  up  all  unto  disobedience." 
We  need  not  discuss  what  the  Apostle  here  and 
elsewhere  in  this  section  means  by  "all."  To 
infer  that  this  is  a  dogmatic  statement  of  universal 
salvation,  that  no  individual  in  Israel  or  among 
the  Gentiles  can  be  finally  lost ;  or  on  the  other 
hand  to  infer  that  he  is  thinking  only  of  the 
people  living  upon  the  earth  in  his  own  day,  is 
to  fasten  logical  exactness  upon  words  which  spring 
from  the  emotion  rather  than  the  reasoning  of 
faith.  He  is  thinking  simply  of  Israel  as  a  people 
and  their  present  extrusion  from  the  benefits  of 
the  gospel  by  their  own  sin.  He  is  thinking  of 
the  Gentile  world,  and  of  the  marvellous  manner 
in  which  large  numbers  in  that  world  welcome  the 
gospel  with  open  hearts.  He  sees  the  latter  process 
spreading  until  the  light  and  wonder  of  it  over- 
whelm the  unbelief  of  Israel  and  turn  the  ancient 
people  into  the  path  of  faith  once  more.  It  is 
a    programme    of     history    that    is    before    him, 


Romans  xi.  25-32  301 

history  dealing  with  the  relation  of  races  in  masses 
and  not  with  the  fate  of  individuals.  This  vision 
of  the  great  Apostle's  mind  may  be  translated  if 
a  man  will  into  a  philosophy  of  history,  into  a 
detailed  programme  for  the  future.  But  it  is  best 
to  hold  it  as  he  left  it — a  sublime  revelation  of  the 
transcendent  power  of  that  faith  in  God's  mercy 
and  God's  wisdom  which  Christ  had  poured  into 
the  hearts  of  men.  Especially  is  it  important  to 
recognize  here  the  Apostle's  perception  of  the 
fact  that  no  form  of  evil  or  of  sin  is  strong  enough 
to  defeat  the  final  purpose  of  His  grace.  Of  course 
the  Apostle  is  too  deep  a  thinker  to  hold  that  evil 
is  only  an  instrument  of  good,  and  sin  only  a 
stepping-stone  to  holiness,  and  unbelief  only  a 
phase  of  the  soul's  progress  towards  faith.  For 
him  sin  remains  sin,  and  he  will  not  tamper  with 
his  conscience  or  confuse  his  judgment  by  any  such 
thoughts  as  these.  But  he  has  seen  God  turn 
man's  unrighteousness  towards  Jesus  to  account ; 
he  has  seen  the  cross  made  the  instrument  of  their 
salvation  ;  he  has  seen  death  itself  overcome,  and 
one  man's  death  made  the  open  door  for  all  men's 
hopes.  But  he  can  hold  this  position  safely  and 
with  a  good  conscience,  because  he  sees,  as  this 
whole  epistle  has  proved,  that  on  the  cross  God 
condemned  sin  at  an  infinite  price  to  Himself. 
Henceforth,  if  men  can  say  that  God  will  make 
even  unbelief  an  instrument  of  grace,  it  is  because 
they  have  seen  Him  make  the  sacrifice  of  His  Son 
the  condition  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 


302   Westminster  New  Testament 

(4)  The  wonder  of  God's  wisdom  (ii.  33-36). 

33  O    the   depth   of   the    riches   both   of    the    wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God  !  how  unsearchable  are  his  judgments, 

34  and  his  ways  past  finding  out  !     For  who  hath  known  the 

35  mind  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who  hath  been  his  counsellor?     Or 
who  hath  first  given  to  him,  and  it  shall  be  recompensed 

36  unto  him  again  ?     For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to 
him,  are  all  things  :  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 

The  argument  of  the  preceding  three  chapters 
so  revealed  the  infinite  wisdom  and  mercy  of  God 
to  the  Apostle's  mind  that  he  is  moved  to  this 
great  outbm-st  of  praise  and  adoration.  He  bows 
in  holy  and  humble  awe  before  the  glory  of  Him 
whose  ways  he  has  been  describing. 

S3.  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  R.V.  margin 
suggests  two  other  readings — "  O  the  depth  of 
the  riches  both  of  wisdom  and  knowledge/'  or, 
"  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  of  the  wisdom  and  the 
knowledge  of  God."  The  latter  is  to  be  preferred, 
depth.  God  is  unfathomable  in  His  wealth  of  grace. 
His  wisdom,  His  knowledge  (cf.  1  Cor.  ii.  10  ;  Eph. 
iii.  18).  riches.  This  is  a  favourite  word  with 
Paul — connected  five  times  with  glory  (Rom.  ix. 
23  ;  Eph.  i.  18,  iii.  I6  ;  Phil.  iv.  19  ;  Col.  i.  27), 
and  twice  with  grace  (Eph.  i.  7,  ii.  7).  Col.  i.  27 
should  be  compared  closely  with  this  verse  and 
ver.  25  above  ("  this  mystery"),  wisdom,  know- 
ledge. The  intellectual  attributes  of  God  with 
which  He  has  overcome  the  defects  of  sin  surpass 
all  our  calculation  and  insight,  judgments, 
ways.  Referring  in  a  general  sense  to  the  choice 
and  execution  of  his  plans,  past  finding  OUt. 
R.V.,  ^^past  tracing  out  "  (Eph.  iii.  8). 


Romans  xii.  i-xv.  13 


303 


34}.  Quoting  Isa.  xl.  13    (cf.  i.  Cor.  ii.  10). 

35.  Quoting  Job.  xli.  1 1  from  the  Hebrew  and  not 
as  usually  the  Greek  translation.  No  man  can  make 
God  a  debtor.  All  the  blessing  that  proceeds  from 
the  eternal  grace  is  a  pure  gift  of  mercy, 

36.  The  ingenious  theologian  has  tried  to  read 
these  three  phrases  as  referring  to  the  Trinity. 
No  such  idea  was  in  the  Apostle's  mind.  All 
things  are  of  God  as  their  source  ;  through  God 
as  their  creator ;  unto  God,  because  they  subserve 
His  purpose,  all  things.  Some  question  whether 
this  means  the  universe  or  "  all  the  things  which 
have  just  been  in  contemplation  "  (cf.  2  Cor.  v.  18). 
The  former  is  preferable,  for  1  Cor.  iii.  22,  and 
even  Rom.  viii.  38,  39,  show  that  Paul  can  think  of 
the  universe  in  all  its  elements  and  parts  as  the 
instrument  of  the  Divine  will. 


PART  IV.  THE  JUSTIFIED  MAN  IN  ACTION. 
(Rom.  xii.  1-xv.  13.) 

In  every  Pauline  epistle  the  author  passes  from 
what  is  usually  called  doctrine  to  ethics  (cf.  Eph. 
iv.  1  ;  Gal.  v.  1  ;  Col.  iii.  1).  But  it  is  not  accurate 
to  describe  these  two  divisions  as  theoretical  and 
practical  respectively.  The  Apostle  did  not 
consider  himself  to  be  theorizing  in  the  first  part 
of  any  of  his  epistles.  He  was  describing  actual 
relations  between  God  and  man.  For  him  they 
are  as  practical  as  any  other  phase  of  human  action 
and  experience.     He  is  concerned  in  the  first  part 


304   Westminster  New  Testament 

with  the  description  of  the  relations  between  man 
and  God,  which  the  gospel  has  revealed  as  so 
varied,  so  rich,  so  full  of  meaning  and  power.  In 
them  man's  experience  is,  and  ought  to  be,  as 
vivid  and  cpncrete,  and  therefore  as  practical,  as  in 
any  other  phase  of  his  life.  When  he  passes  to 
what  we  have  weakly  come  to  call  the  practical 
portion  of  his  letter,  he  is  simply  showing  how  the 
new  relations  with  God  renew  our  relations  with 
men  ;  how  the  inner  experience  which  the  gospel  has 
created  works  on  our  voUtional  experience  in  social 
life.  There  is  a  division  indeed,  and  a  natural  one, 
between  these  two  phases  of  our  life,  but  they  are 
both  practical,  and  the  Apostle  was  probably  un- 
conscious of  theorizing  in  the  one  field  any  more 
than  in  the  other.  We  shall  have  a  better  form  of 
Christian  Ethics  when  this  is  realized,  and  not  less 
certainly  a  more  concrete  and  practical  form  of 
stating  Christian  Doctrine  on  its  inner  or  purely 
religious  side. 

This  part  of  the  epistle  is  divisible  into  seven 
sections.  (1)  The  new  attitude  of  man  towards 
God  is  briefly  resumed  (xii.  1,  2).  (2)  In  the  new 
community  which  this  experience  has  created, 
certain  fundamental  principles  of  conduct  are 
stated  (xii.  3-8).  (3)  This  passes  naturally  into  a 
description  of  the  renewed  spirit  and  conduct  of 
the  justified  man,  both  towards  his  brethren  in  the 
Church  and  towards  all  men  (xii.  9-21).  (4)  A 
specific  problem  not  elsewhere  dealt  with  by  the 
Apostle  naturally  emerges  as  he  writes  to  the 
Church  in  Rome,  namely,  that  concerning  the  atti- 
tude of  Christians  towards  the  secular  government 
of  the  day  (xiii.  1-7).  (5)  A  brief  paragraph 
ensues  on  the  law  of  love  (xiii.   8-10).     (6)  And 


Romans  xii.  i,  2  305 

this  is  followed  by  an  exhortation  founded  upon 
the  urgency  of  the  hour,  for  the  day  of  Christ  is 
near  (xiii.  11-14).  (7)  One  phase  of  the  relations 
of  Jew  and  Gentile,  and  even  of  Christian  and 
non-Christian,  which  pressed  upon  the  Apostle's 
attention  in  other  cities  may  have  assumed  a 
peculiar  intensity  at  this  time  in  the  church  at 
Rome,  for  he  enters  upon  a  lengthy  discussion 
of  what  we  may  call  the  duty  of  the  "strong" 
(xiv.  1-xv.  13). 

Rom.  xii.  i,  2. 
1.    THE   RENEWED   WILL  TOWARDS    GOD. 

1  I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God, 
that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  accept- 

2  able  unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service.  And  be 
not  conformed  to  this  world  :  but  be  ye  transformed  by  the 
renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is  that 
good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God. 

Most  expositors  connect  this  paragraph  with  the 
last  words  of  chap.  xi.  If,  however,  we  are  right 
in  assuming  that  at  the  close  of  that  chapter  the 
Apostle  ceased  dictation  and,  either  by  means  of 
a  re-reading  or  without  it,  meditated  a  while  over 
the  whole  course  of  his  argument,  then  these 
carefully  constructed  sentences  must  be  taken 
as  referring  rather  to  the  new  situation  in  which 
the  Christian  man  finds  himself,  and  which  has 
been  described  in  chaps,  iii.  21-viii.  39- 

1.  I  beseech  you  therefore.  The  new  re- 
lations with  God  in  Christ  are  not  the  experience 
of  a  passive,  but  an  active,  will.  It  is  the  renewed 
will  which  is  here  addressed,  and  which  every  man 

20 


3o6    Westminster  New  Testament 

must  exert  strongly  if  the  fruits  of  justification 
are  to  be  borne  in  social  action,  by  the  niercies 
of  God  (cf.  Luke  vi.  36  ;  2  Cor.  i.  3).  These 
niercies  are  in  Christ  as  they  flow  from  the  heart  of 
Divine  love  and  reach    the   undeserving  heart    of 

the  sinful  man.  that  ye  present  your  bodies. 
R.V.,  "  to  present  your  bodies."  This  must  mean 
your  whole  selves,  the  body  being  named  simply  as 
the  basis  and  weapon  of  the  spiritual  life  (cf.  vi. 
13-19)-  The  verb  is  frequently  used  of  the  formal 
presentation  of  persons  and  offerings  before  God. 
Here  this  is  called  sacrifice — one  of  the  rare 
instances  in  which  the  Apostle  uses  the  language 
of  the  Temple  metaphorically  for  the  spiritual 
relations  established  in  the  gospel,  living.  For 
this  sacrifice  is  not  of  a  dead  animal,  but  of  a 
quickened  and  conscious  spirit,  holy.  For  accept- 
ance in  Christ  has  set  apart  the  individual  for  God. 
acceptable  to  God.  R.  V.  inargm,  "  well-pleasing." 
For  He  has  infinite  delight  in  the  movement  of  the 
renewed  will,  reasonable  service.  The  word 
^^  service  "  means  formal  worship,  and  the  whole 
phrase  means  "  a  ceremonial  of  thought  and  mind  " 
(B.  Jowett).  Paul  rarely  employs  the  language  of 
sacrifice  and  ritual  in  relation  to  the  Christian,  and 
never  so  as  to  establish  sacramentarian  doctrine 
(cf.  Phil.  ii.  17,  iv.  18;  Rom.  xv.  l6). 
2.  And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world. 

R.V.,  "  fashioned  according  to  this  world  (margin, 
age)."  The  will  which  the  Divine  Spirit  now 
animates  must  seek,  in  its  own  action,  to  break 
away  from  the  customs  imposed  upon  it  by  the 
surrounding  life  of  society,  must  seek  to  realize 
that  renewing  of  the  mind  which  is  the  work  of 
God's  Spirit  indeed,  but  which  a  man  must  ener- 


Romans  xii.  3-8  307 

getically  put  into  operation.  The  need  for  this 
renewal  is  described  in  chap.  vii.  (cf.  Eph.  iv.  23  ; 
Tit.  iii.  5).  For  the  distinction  between  "  fashioned  " 
and  "transformed/'  see  note  in  Lightfoot's  Covwient- 
ary  on  Phil.  ii.  6-8.  "Fashion"  is  more  external 
and  less  essential  than  "form."  prove, — that  is, 
discriminate  or  discover  (cf.  Gal.  vi.  4  ;  1  Thess. 
ii.  4  ;  Rom.  i.  28,  ii.  18  ;  Phil.  i.  10  ;  1  Cor.  xi.  28  ; 
Eph.  V.  10).  what  is  that  good.  etc.  R.V. 
margin  is  preferable — "what  is  the  will  of  God, 
even  the  thing  which  is  good  and  acceptable  and 
perfect."  For  acceptable  we  must  read  "well- 
pleasing."  perfect.  Frequently  used  by  Paul  of 
persons  (1  Cor.  ii.  6;  Eph.  iv.  13;  Phil.  iii.  15; 
Col.  i.  28,  iv.  12;  cf.  Matt.  v.  48,  xix.  21). 

Rom.  xii.  3-8. 
2.  CONDUCT  IN  THE  CHURCH. 

3  For  I  say,  through  the  grace  given  unto  me,  to  every  man 
that  is  among  you,  not  to  think  of  himself  more  highly  than 
he  ought  to  think  ;  but  to  think  soberly,  according  as  God 

4  hath  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of  faith.  For  as  we 
have  many  members  in  one  body,  and  all  members  have 

5  not  the  same  office  :  so  we,  being  many,  are  one  body  in 

6  Christ,  and  every  one  members  one  of  another.  Having 
then  gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace  that  is  given  to 
us,  whether  prophecy,  let   us  prophesy  according   to  the 

7  proportion  of  faith  ;  or  ministry,  let  us  wait  on  our  minis- 

8  tering  ;  or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teaching  ;  or  he  that 
exhorteth,  on  exhortation  ;  he  that  giveth,  let  him  do  it  with 
simplicity  ;  he  that  ruleth,  with  diligence  ;  he  that  sheweth 
mercy,  with  cheerfulness. 

The    Christian    man    has    received    the   gospel 
directly  or  indirectly  from  a  community,  and  finds 


3o8   Westminster  New  Testament 

that  it  can  only  be  realized  by  him  in  a  communal 
life.  In  that  community  certain  principles  obtain 
and  certain  functions  must  be  exercised.  The 
Apostle  here  deals  first  with  the  principle  of 
humility  (ver.  3)  and  then  with  the  conditions  of 
service  which  are  imposed  upon  every  true  member 
of  the  body  (vers.  4-8). 

3.  For  I  say.  The  change  wrought  according 
to  vers.  1,  2  in  the  mind  of  the  Christian  man  issues 
in  humility  (cf.  Phil.  ii.  3,  4).  It  is  a  permanent 
experience  of  the  Christian  Church  that  one  of  the 
first  dangers  of  the  new  life  is  self-exaltation.  The 
very  intensity  with  which  selfhood  is  emphasized 
in  the  experience  of  repentance^  faith,  forgiveness, 
and  the  receiving  of  the  Spirit,  the  very  importance 
attached  to  the  individual  by  the  earnestness  of 
his  teachers  in  winning  him  to  the  gospel,  tend  to 
intensify  the  natural  proclivity  of  the  human  heart 
towards  self-esteem,  through  the  grace.  The 
Apostle  is  careful  to  disown  any  accusation  of  self- 
exaltation  in  this  very  act  of  exhorting  others  to 
humility.  True  humility  may  exercise  even  the 
greatest  office  and  be  conscious  of  its  greatness, 
and  yet  do  so  with  utter  unselfishness.  So  with 
Jesus  and  His  supreme  office  of  Messiah,  Saviour, 
and  King,  not  to  think  of  himself  more 
highly.  Self-consciousness  is  a  law  of  life,  and 
hence  a  man  ^'^  ought  to  think  of  himself,"  and 
even  to  think  highly  of  himself,  in  his  Christian 
estate.  The  Apostle  is  not  by  any  means  insisting 
upon  a  mean  meekness  or  a  foolish  self-effacement. 
A  man  must  not  think  less  adequately  of  himself 
any  more  than  he  must  think  more  highly  of 
himself.  To  think  spiritually  he  must  have  a  habit 
of  thought  which  issues  in  the  stern  control  of  all 


Romans  xii.  3-8  309 

selfish  and  self-exalting  impulses,  according  as 
God,  etc.  The  rule  of  safety  here  is  to  recognize 
what  God  has  given  to  each  man,  and  to  use  it  not 
as  a  private  possession  but  as  a  gift  through  faith, 
and  even  to  realize  that  the  very  faith  which  a  man 
has  springs  from  the  grace  of  God,  and  not  from  his 
own  merit  or  power. 

4,  5.  The  mutual  dependence  of  members  in  a 
Christian  community  is  illustrated  by  that  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  body,  a  favourite  figure  with 
the  Apostle  (cf  1  Cor.  xii.  12-31;  Eph.  iv.  15; 
Col.  i.  18).  The  varying  offices  of  the  members  of 
the  body  are  emphasized  here,  vers.  6-8,  but  before 
speaking  of  the  variety  Paul  asserts  their  unity  in 

Christ,  every  one  members  one  of  another. 
R.V.,  "severally  members  one  of  another."  A 
peculiar  phrase,  referring  of  course  to  the  inter- 
dependence of  the  various  parts  of  an  organism  by 
which  they  co-operate  for  the  life  of  the  whole. 

6,  1 ,  8.  There  is  difficulty  about  the  grammatical 
construction  of  these  verses,  but  the  A.V.  and  R.V. 
have,  by  inserting  active  verbs  in  italics,  brought 
out  the  meaning  with  sufficient  clearness.  Some 
of  the  forms  of  action  named  here  can  hardly  be 
carried  on  in  a  community  except  through  special 
men,  gifted  and  appointed  for  them  ;  but  others 
are  actions  demanded  of  each  towards  all.  gifts. 
Or,  we  may  say,  "charisms."  The  word  is  used  by 
Paul  alone  (except  1  Pet.  iv.  10)  and  is  closely 
connected  with  the  word  for  grace.  He  uses  it  of 
various  privileges  and  powers  with  which  the 
Christian  is  endued  by  the  Spirit  of  God  (cf.  Rom. 
1.  11,  vi.  23,  xi.  29;  1  Cor.  xii.  4ir.  ;  2  Tim.  i.  6). 
Here  the  word  is  applied  to  moral  and  spiritual 
endowments  for  the  varied  forms  of  service  within 


3IO   Westminster  New  Testament 
the  Church,    differing  according  to  the  grace 

that  is  given  to  us.  B..V.,  "was  given  to  us." 
Humility  must  always  remember  that  every 
endowment,  privilege,  or  opportunity  is  a  gift  from 
that  grace  which  called  men  into  the  Church  at 
baptism  (cf.  Eph.  iv.  11  ff.).  prophecy.  Does  not 
mean  necessarily  the  power  of  foretelling  the 
future,  but  that  of  revealing  spiritual  truth.  For 
long  there  existed  in  the  early  Church  a  class  of 
men  as  prophets,  the  history  of  whose  office,  how- 
ever, is  obscure,  according  to  the  proportion 
of  faith.  Lit.,  "  the  analogy  of  faith."  This  phrase 
has  been  employed  in  later  theology  for  the  state- 
ment of  a  doctrine  in  the  light  of  a  standard,  such 
as  the  Scriptures  or  the  creed  of  the  Church ;  but 
no  such  meaning  belongs  to  it  here.  The  Apostle 
simply  refers  to  the  idea  expressed  in  ver.  3  regarding 
the  apportionment  of  faith  to  each  by  God  Himself. 

7.  ministry.  This  probably  refers  to  duties 
involved  in  handling  the  pecuniary  affairs  of  the 
Church,  and  especially  its  gifts  to  the  poor.  Our 
word  "  deacon  "  is  derived  from  the  Greek  word  used 
here  (cf.  Acts  vi.  1  ff.).  he  that  teacheth.  Regular 
instruction  belonged  to  the  life  of  a  Church  from 
the  very  beginning.  Jesus,  its  Founder,  was  first 
known  as  a  teacher,  and  the  intellectual  element  in 
the  gospel  permanently  requires  both  the  training 
and  the  persistent  labour  of  those  who  are  "  apt  to 
teach." 

8.  exhorteth.  This  word  might  better  be 
translated  "  comforteth,"  or  "giveth  encourage- 
ment." No  function  is  more  necessary  in  the 
early  history  of  Christianity  amid  a  hostile  environ- 
ment than  that  of  the  courageous  and  brave  man 
who  is  able  to  strengthen  the  faith  and  quicken 


Romans  xii.  9-21  311 

the  ardour  of  the  more  timid  and  the  more  easily 
distressed.  Barnabas  is  said  to  have  been  a  man 
distinguished  for  this  power  (Acts  iv.  36).  he 
that  giveth,  let  him  do  it  with  simplicity  (mar- 
gin,  "liberally"  ;  R.V.,  "with  liberality"  ;  margin, 
"singleness").  The  A.V.  gives  the  best  meaning. 
The  rich  who  were  able  to  give  were  tempted  to 
do  so  with  mixed  motives,  with  pride  and  con- 
descension or  with  a  view  to  the  exercise  of  power. 
It  is  a  distinct  grace  of  God  when  gifts  are  made 
out  of  perfectly  pure  motives  with  simplicity  of 
aim.  with  diligence.  Rather,  "with  moral 
earnestness."  This  is  to  be  the  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  him  who  rules  or  directs  the 
affairs  of  the  community  in  any  way  (cf.  1  Thess. 
V.  12;  1  Tim.  iii.  4,  5,  v.  17).  sheweth  mercy. 
The  establishment  of  the  Church  opened  the 
sealed  fountains  of  human  pity.  All  manner  of 
suffering,  distress,  poverty,  disease,  drew  out  the 
helpful  sympathy  of  the  renewed  heart  which  had 
itself  drunk  deep  of  the  mercy  of  God.  There  is 
no  more  beautiful  characteristic  of  mercifulness 
than  its  cheerfulness  or  gladness.  When  such 
work  is  done  grudgingly  its  very  quality  is 
destroyed. 

Rom.  xii.  9-21. 
3.  CONDUCT  TOWARDS  ALL  MEN. 

9  Let  love  be  without  dissimulation.     Abhor  that  which  is 

10  evil ;  cleave  to  that  which  is  good.     Be  kindly  affectioned 
one  to  another  with  brotherly  love  ;  in  honour  preferring 

1 1  one  another ;  not  slothful  in  business  ;  fervent  in  spirit ; 

12  serving  the  Lord  ;  rejoicing  in  hope  ;  patient  in  tribula- 

13  tion  ;    continuing  instant  in  prayer  ;    distributing  to   the 


312   Westminster  New  Testament 

14  necessity   of   saints  ;    given   to  hospitality.      Bless   them 

15  which  persecute  you  :  bless,  and  curse  not.     Rejoice  with 

16  them  that  do  rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep.  Be 
of  the  same  mind  one  toward  another.  Mind  not  high 
things,  but  condescend  to  men  of  low  estate.     Be  not  wise 

17  in  your  own  conceits.    Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for  evil. 

18  Provide  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men.  If  it  be 
possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all 

19  men.  Dearly  beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather 
give   place   unto  wrath  ;    for   it   is  written.    Vengeance  is 

20  mine ;  I  will  repay ^  saith  the  Lord.  Therefore  if  thine 
enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink  :  for 

21  in  so  doing  thou  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head.  Be 
not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good. 

The  Apostle  here  utters  a  number  of  brief, 
pointed  moral  exhortations  which  throw  a  flood  of 
light  upon  obscure  corners  of  motive  and  action  in 
the  mutual  relations  of  men.  That  he  has  in  view 
the  intercourse  of  Christians  with  one  another  is 
obvious ;  but  it  is  quite  clear  that  these  moral 
principles,  if  they  operate  at  all,  must  operate 
universally,  and  some  of  the  phrases  break  beyond 
the  bounds  of  the  Church  and  become  universal 
even  in  their  expression. 

9.  without  dissimulation.  R.V.,  "hypocrisy." 
Cf.  2  Cor.  vi.  6 ;  1  Tim.  i.  5  ;  2  Tim.  i.  5  ;  1  Pet. 
i.  22.  abhor  .  .  .  cleave.  Lit.,  "abhorring  .  .  . 
cleaving."  It  is  better  to  read  these  words  as  par- 
ticiples explaining  love  in  its  purity  and  sincerity. 
Love  finds  evil  repulsive  and  good  attractive. 

10.  Be  kindly  .  .  .  brotherly  love.  R.V., 
"In  love  of  the  brethren  be  tenderly  affectioned 
one  to  another."  The  early  Christians  recognized 
^  kind  of  family  affection,  natural  and  spontaneous^ 


Romans  xii.  9-21  313 

which  sprang  up  in  their  hearts  towards  one  another. 
To  this  they  are  continually  exhorted  that  it  may 
be  as  powerful  as  its  source  is  Divine,  in  honour 
preferring  one  another  (cf.  Phil.  ii.  3).  This 
refers  to  the  danger  of  conceit  and  rivalry^  which 
from  the  first  was  felt  in  the  Christian  communities. 
The  principle  of  honour  is  given  a  still  wider 
application  in  1  Pet.  ii.  17. 

11.  not  slothfulin  business.  R.V.,  "in  dili- 
gence not  slothful."  The  word  translated  "  busi- 
ness" or  "diligence"  is  variously  used  both  as  verb 
and  as  noun:  for  speedy  action,  2  Tim.  iv.  9j  21, 
Mark  vi.  25  ;  intense  determination,  Gal.  ii.  10, 
2  Cor.  vii.  11,  Eph.  iv.  3,  2  Pet.  i.  10;  concern 
for  persons,  2  Cor.  vii.  12,  viii.  l6.  It  is  also  used 
generally  for  moral  earnestness  in  opposition  to 
slackness  of  will,  2  Cor.  viii.  7,  8.  On  "  slothful  " 
cf.  Matt.  XXV.  26*.  fervent  in  spirit  (cf.  Acts 
xviii.  25).  An  intense,  boiling  enthusiasm  rising 
out  of  the  inmost  life  where  the  Spirit  of  God 
rules  the  spirit  of  man.  serving  the  Lord.  R.  V. 
margin,  "  the  opportunity."  A  slight  difference  in 
spelling  between  two  Greek  words  gives  this  differ- 
ence of  meaning. 

12.  rejoicing  in  hope,  patient  in  tribula- 
tion (cf.  V.  2  ff.,  viii.  25  ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  7.  instant. 
R.V.,  "stedfastly"  (cf.  Acts  i.  14,  vi.  4;  Col. 
iv.  2).  The  word  is  employed  below  in  xiii.  6  for 
continual  attention  to  duty.  It  implies  that  prayer 
must  be  pursued  with  unwearied  energy  if  it  is  to 
have  power. 

13.  distributing  to  the  necessity  of  saints. 

R.V.,  "communicating  to  the  necessity  of  the 
saints  "  (cf.  Gal.  vi.  6).  Gifts  are  here  regarded 
as  acts  of  communion  in  the  grace  of  God,     The 


314   Westminster  New  Testament 

Apostle  has  been  much  employed  at  the  time  of 
writing  this  letter  with  the  enormous  task  of  raising 
money  throughout  the  Churches  which  he  had 
founded  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  at  Jerusalem, 
among  whom  some  unexplained  calamity  seems  to 
have  created  an  acute  distress,  given  to  hospital- 
ity. R.V.  margin,  "pursuing."  This  is  one  form  of 
ministering  to  the  needs  of  the  saints  (cf.  Heb. 
xiii.  2 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  1).  Hospitality  does  not  refer 
here  to  indiscriminate  opening  of  Christian  homes 
to  every  one,  but  specifically  to  fellow-Christians 
who  were  travelling,  as  many  of  them  constantly 
did,  and  who  required  the  shelter  of  friendly  homes. 
The  virtue  thus  emphasized  helped  to  bind  the 
churches  of  various  cities  and  countries  together  in 
living  intercourse. 

14.  Bless  .  .  .  and  curse  not  (cf.  Matt.  v. 
44).  The  word  translated  "  pursuing  "  in  the  pre- 
ceding sentence  may  have  suggested  the  idea 
of  persecuting,  which  is  referred  to  here.  The 
supreme  instance  of  obedience  to  this  law  is,  of 
course,  Jesus  Himself  (1  Pet.  ii.  23). 

15.  rejoice,  weep.  It  has  often  been  pointed 
out  that  sympathy  flows  more  easily  towards  the 
sorrowful  than  towards  the  rejoicing.  A  secret 
envy  may  easily  stifle  the  latter,  while  a  sense 
of  security  may  help  to  stimulate  the  former. 
In  each  case  there  is  required  the  force  of  a  love 
which  enters  deeply  into  the  meaning  both  of  the 
joy  and  the  sorrow  which  it  sees,  and  takes  them 
both  upon  itself. 

16.  the  same  mind  (cf  Phil.  ii.  2,  iv.  2 ; 
2  Cor.  xiii.  11).  Some  would  connect  the  next  nega- 
tive commands  with  this  one,  but  that  seems  un- 
necessary, even  although  the  first  of  them  does 


Romans  xii.  9-21  315 

emphasize  a  danger  which  easily  creates  division  of 
feeling  in  any  community.  Mind  not  high  things. 
R.V.^  "  Set  not  your  mind  on  high  things."  con- 
descend to  men  of  low  estate.  R.V.,  "  conde- 
scend to  (niargin,  be  carried  away  with)  things  that 
are  lowly."  It  is  better  to  use  the  neuter  in  both 
places,  the  Apostle  simply  urging  that  men  do  not 
set  before  themselves  ambitions  that  are  selfish 
when  they  cannot  enter  into  the  duties  that  are 
obscure  and  humble  (cf.  Rom.  xi.  20  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  17  ; 
1  Cor.  xiii.  5).  Be  not  wise,  etc.  (Prov.  iii.  17  ;  cf. 
Rom.  xi.  25). 

17.  Recompense.  R.V.,  "Render"  (Matt.  v. 
38-48  ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  5, 6).  provide  things  honest. 
R.V.,  "  Take  thought  for  things  honourable  "  (Prov. 
iii.  4,  Gr.  trans.  ;  cf.  2  Cor.  viii.  21).  The  Apostle 
would  have  Christian  men  careful  of  the  conventions 
around  them,  where  these  are  not  contrary  to  the 
Christian  law.  Many  zealous  converts  in  non- 
Christian  lands  are  apt  to  consider  themselves  free 
to  break  up  the  ordinary  customs  of  home  and 
society,  and  thus  bring  upon  themselves  and  their 
religion  the  condemnation  of  barbarity.  The  Apostle 
would  have  his  converts  observe  the  laws  of  social 
intercourse  scrupulously. 

18.  live  peaceably.  R.V.,  "be  at  peace  "(cf. 
Mark  ix.  50;  1  Thess.  v.  13;  2  Cor.  xiii.  11). 
The  clause  "  if  it  be  possible  "  would  indicate  re- 
cognition of  the  fact  that  peace  has  two  sides,  and 
that  a  man  may  be  involved  in  relations  of  distress 
with  another  for  which  he  has  no  responsibility  ; 
but  he  lays  it  upon  the  Christian  man  to  maintain 
peace  "as  much  as  in  you  lieth,"  that  is,  with  all  his 
strength. 

19-  Dearly  beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves. 


3i6   Westminster  New  Testament 

R.V.,  ^'Avenge  not  yourselves,  beloved,  but  give 
place  unto  wrath  (margin,  the  wrath  of  God)  "  (cf. 
Luke  xviii.  2-8).  The  word  "give  place"  has  been 
interpreted  by  some  to  mean,  Yield  before  your 
enemy's  wrath.  And  by  others,  Arrest  your  own 
wrath,  give  it  place,  or  rather,  time  to  cool.  But 
the  actual  meaning  becomes  clear  when  we  realize 
that  the  reference  is  to  the  wrath  of  God.  We 
must  not  assume  His  prerogatives,  for  it  is 
written.  The  Apostle  here  does  not  directly  quote 
but  refers  to  Deut.  xxxii.  35  (cf.  Heb.  x.  30).  The 
control  of  men  is  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  a 
Christian  man  is  one  who  with  his  whole  soul 
recognizes  that  fact  both  in  relation  to  himself  and 
to  his  fellow-men.  He  must  not,  therefore,  usurp 
the  place  of  God,  and  inflict  punishment  even  upon 
the  man  who  has  admittedly  done  him  wrong. 
This  is  no  doubt  a  hard  task,  but  the  Apostle 
is  only  echoing  the  well-known  words  of  Jesus, 
Matt.  V.  38  ff.,  44.  The  endurance  of  wrong  without 
revenge  is  only  possible  to  two  classes  of  men — those 
of  weak  will  who,  therefore,  deserve  the  contempt 
of  their  fellows,  and  those  of  a  splendid  religious 
faith,  and  these  are  in  fellowship  with  the  mighty 
and  redemptive  resignation  of  Jesus.  Men  stand 
in  awe  of  him  who  refuses  revenge  because  he  has 
faith  in  God  (1  Pet.  ii.  23). 

20.  Therefore.  R.V.,  ^'But"  (cf  Prov.  xxv.  2, 
Gr.  trans.),  coals  of  fire:  The  Apostle  does  not 
mean  here  that  the  enemy  suffers,  as  God  will 
punish  him  more  severely  when  He  sees  our  mercy, 
which  would  be  a  hideous  mutilation  of  the  word 
of  Jesus.  He  means  that  the  kindness  shown  to  a 
wrong-doer  will  tend  to  awaken  in  him  a  sense  of 
shame  and  kindle  the  fire  of  repentance. 


^  Romans  xiii.  1-7  317 

21.  To  return  evil  for  evil  is  to  suffer  twice : 
first,  the  evil  you  receive ;  second,  the  evil  you 
inflict.  The  only  vv^ay  to  conquer  evil  is  to  persist 
in  the  good. 

Rom.  xiii.  1-7. 

4.  CONDUCT  TOWARDS  THE  SECULAR 
GOVERNMENT. 

1  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.  For 
there   is  no   power  but  of  God  :  the  powers  that  be  are 

2  ordained  of  God.  Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the 
power,    resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God  :    and   they   that 

3  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves  damnation.  For  rulers 
are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil.  Wilt  thou 
then  not  be  afraid  of  the  power  ?  do  that  which  is  good,  and 

4  thou  shalt  have  praise  of  the  same  :  for  he  is  the  minister 
of  God  to  thee  for  good.  But  if  thou  do  that  which  is 
evil,  be  afraid  ;  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain  :  for 
he   is   the   minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath 

5  upon  him  that  doeth  evil.  Wherefore  ye  must  needs  be 
subject,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience'  sake. 

6  For,  for  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute  also  :  for  they  are  God's 
ministers,    attending    continually  upon    this    very    thing. 

7  Render  therefore  to  all  their  dues  :  tribute  to  whom  tribute 
is  due  ;  custom  to  whom  custom  ;  fear  to  whom  fear ; 
honour  to  whom  honour. 

There  is  no  other  passage  just  like  this  in  Paul's 
writings.  We  find  passing  references  to  rulers  in 
1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2 ;  Tit.  iii.  1.  On  the  whole  the 
Apostle  had  found  the  Government  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  of  which  he  was  a  citizen  by  birth,  to  be 
a  protector  against  lawless  attacks.  In  all  his 
travels  he  had  seen  it  as  the  restrainer  of  crime, 
as  the  disseminator  of  order  among  barbarian 
peoples,  as  the  guardian  of  commerce  on  the  great 


3i8    Westminster  New  Testament 

trade  ways,  as  wielding  the  weapons  of  justice 
between  the  various  classes  and  races  over  whom 
it  held  sway.  As  yet  the  Christian  movement  had 
not  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Emperor,  and 
hence  there  was  no  official  persecution.  Nero  was 
on  the  throne,  but  had  not  yet  begun  his  career 
of  madness.  The  Apostle's  Jewish  training  and 
his  familiarity  with  O.T.  teaching  must  have 
led  him  to  see  and  believe,  as  he  teaches  here, 
that  it  is  by  God's  act  that  kings  rule  and 
princes  decree  justice.  The  whole  story  of  the 
O.T.  is  the  story  of  Jehovah's  relation  with 
the  national  life  of  its  rulers,  and  in  its  pages 
the  Apostle  would  find  many  references  to  His 
control  over,  and  direction  of,  the  history  of 
other  peoples  and  their  rulers.  When  we  have 
allowed  for  these  conditions  under  which  his  mind 
worked,  we  must  still  admire  the  penetration  with 
which  in  this  passage  he  goes  straight  to  the 
fundamental  fact.  In  modern  language  we  may 
say  that  Paul  sees  social  order  to  be  established  by 
God.  The  principle  of  government  is  a  Divine 
principle,  and  Christian  men  who  serve  God  must 
act  in  their  relations  to  the  State  upon  that 
principle.  It  has  been  surmised  that  the  Apostle 
had  heard  of  dangerous  tendencies  among  the  Jews 
at  Rome  who  were  notorious  for  their  uncom- 
promising attitude  towards  non-Jewish  govern- 
ments, many  of  them  considering  it  sin  to 
acknowledge  the  authority  of  any  king  or  to  pay 
custom  to  any  ruler.  In  this  paragraph  the  follow- 
ing principles  are  laid  down :  (1)  Civil  order  is 
ordained  by  God  (vers.  I,  4,  6)  ;  (2)  its  purpose  is 
the  encouragement  of  the  good  and  the  restraint 
of    evil-doers    (vers.     2-4) ;    (3)     loyalty    to    the 


Romans  xiii.  1-7  319 

authorities  as  dispensers  of  justice  is  a  religious 
duty  binding  upon  the  Christian  conscience 
(vers.  1,2,  5,  6);  (4)  this  loyalty  is  expressed  in 
particular  duties  (vers.  6,  7). 

Manifestly,  the  Apostle  is  not  dealing  with 
situations  where  the  Government  itself  has  become 
unjust,  oppressive,  and  corrupt.  Such  crises  must 
be  dealt  with  by  Christians  in  a  Christian  manner, 
whose  exact  form  is  not  prescribed  in  this  passage. 
There  is,  of  course,  no  ground  here  for  any  argu- 
ment on  behalf  of  the  union  of  Church  and  State, 
for  the  usurpation  by  either  of  the  functions  oif 
the  other.  It  would  seem  from  ver.  7  that  the 
Apostle  knew  the  great  word  of  Jesus,  "  Render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's  and  unto 
God  the  things  that  are  God's,"  and  it  is  upon  the 
fundamental  diiference  between  the  Church  as  the 
fellowship  of  grace  and  the  State  as  the  instrument 
of  justice  that  his  argument  proceeds. 

1.  every  soul.  A  Hebrew  expression  for  in- 
dividual persons  (Gen.  xlvi.  15-18;  Ex.  xii.  4). 
be  subject  unto.  R.V.,  "be  in  subjection  to." 
higher  powers.  The  word  here  may  be  trans- 
lated "authorities"  (Luke  xii.  11;  Tit.  iii.  1;  cf. 
Eph.  vi.  12;  Col.  i.  16).  of  God.  Both  negatively 
and  positively  in  the  succeeding  clauses  the  Apostle 
states  that  it  is  by  an  act  of  God  that  the  ruling 
powers  are  established.  There  is  almost  a  play 
on  words  which  we  may  reproduce  somewhat  as 
follows :  "  They  are  ordained  by  God  for  order's 
sake,  and  every  one  must  subordinate  himself  under 
them." 

2.  resisteth  the  ordinance.  R.V.,  "with- 
standing." they  that  resist.  R.V.,  "withstand." 
damnation.    R.V.,  "judgment."     Since  God  has 


320   Westminster  New  Testament 

established  the  ruling  powers,  the  man  who  with- 
stands them  must  expect  to  be  dealt  with  by  God 
Himself.  There  is,  of  course,  no  reference  here  to 
future  punishment. 

3.  rulers.  He  is  speaking  in  general  terms,  not 
of  individuals  but  of  officials,  and  he  considers  the 
meaning  and  purpose  of  their  office  in  itself  apart 
from  the  virtues  of  individual  men  in  office,  good 
works.  R.V.,  "work."  Wilt  thou  then  not  be 
afraid  ?  R.  V.,  "  And  wouldest  thou  have  no  fear." 
The  teaching  is  clear  and  obvious.  God  has  ap- 
pointed rulers  that  they  may  awaken  the  fear  of 
evil-doers,  and  that  they  may  give  approval  to 
those  who  do  good. 

4.  for   he  is  the    minister   of  God.   R.V., 

'^he  {inargin,  it)  is  a  minister  of  God."  The  word 
for  minister  is  the  same  as  that  rendered  deacon 
elsewhere.  He  repeats  the  statement  later  in  this 
same  verse  in  connection  with  the  infliction  of 
judicial  penalties.  So  directly  does  he  connect 
the  principle  of  government  with  God's  order  of 
life  that  he  does  not  shrink  from  telling  these 
Roman  Christians  that  they  must  consider  the 
judge  or  the  emperor  as  the  immediate  servant  of 
God.  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath,  etc.  R.V., 
"  an  avenger  for  wrath  to  him,"  etc.  The  reference 
here  is  not  to  the  wrath  of  the  ruler  but  of  God 
Himself.  The  punishment  of  crime  by  the  State 
is  an  instrument  of  God  and  a  manifestation  of  His 
indignation  with  evil. 

5.  not  only  for  wrath.  R.V.,  "not  only  be- 
cause of  the  wrath."  He  urges  that  men  must 
observe  the  laws,  must  submit  themselves  to  their 
rulers,  not  only  from  their  fear  of  this  Divine  wrath, 
but  also  for  conscience'  sake.     Conscience  here 


Romans  xiii.  1-7  321 

must  mean  something  like  what  it  does  in  Rom. 
ii.l5,  where  the  inner  Hfe  is  spoken  of  not  merely  as 
a  private  and  individual^  but  as  a  social^  fact.  The 
appeal  here  is  to  that  moral  common  sense  out  of 
which  the  order  of  society  has  grown,  and  which 
makes  the  duty  of  obedience  obvious  to  the  ordinary 
citizen. 

6.  pay  ye.  R.V.,  "ye  pay"  (cf.  Luke  xx.  20- 
25  ;  Mark  xii.  13-17).  Here  he  appeals  to  one 
phase  of  this  conscience  or  moral  common  sense, 
for  citizens  do  actually  pay  tribute.  God's 
ministers.  R.V.,  '^^  ministers  of  God's  service." 
A  new  word  occurs  here,  translated  "ministers/' 
drawn  from  the  temple  service.  The  Apostle  uses 
it  to  emphasize  the  official  and  sacred  character  of 
the  work  of  rulers.  The  phrase  "upon  this  very 
thing  "  ought  to  follow  the  words  "  God's  ministers." 
They  are  God's  ministers  for  this  very  purpose, 
namely,  the  establishment  of  order,  which  must 
include  levying  of  tribute,  attending"  continu- 
ally (see  above,  xii.  12). 

7.  The  issue  of  all  is  stated  in  four  exhortations 
based  upon  the  principle  that  all  who  occupy 
definitely  established  ofl^ces  must  receive  that 
which  is  due  to  them  from  Christian  citizens. 
These  dues  include  tribute,  generally  used  of 
exactions  from  conquered  people ;  CUStom, 
generally  the  taxes  levied  for  the  expenses  of  the 
government,  as  well  as  moral  and  inward  duties  of 
a  reverential  fear  and  honour. 


21 


322   Westminster  New  Testament 

Rom.  xiii.  8-10. 
5.  THE   LAW   OF   LOVE. 

8  Owe  no  man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  another  :  for  he 

9  that  loveth  another  hath  fulfilled  the  law.  For  this,  Thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou  shalt  not  kill,  Thou  shalt 
not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness,  Thou  shalt  not 
covet ;  and  if  there  be  any  other  commandment,  it  is 
briefly  comprehended  in  this  saying,  namely,  Thou  shalt 

10  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.     Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his 
neighbour  :  therefore  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law. 

As  the  Apostle  passed  over  from  describing  the 
duties  of  Church  members  to  one  another  (xii.  3  ff.) 
to  a  series  of  definite  ethical  principles  (xii.  9  ff-):> 
so  here,  having  described  the  fundamental  principle 
of  relationship  to  the  State  (xiii.  1-7),  he  now 
states  in  brief  the  ethical  principle  which  sum- 
marizes universal  morality ;  this  is  the  great 
principle  of  love.  (On  the  N.T.  words  for  love,  see 
Sanday and Headlam, EjnstletoRomans,^^.  374-377.) 

8.  Owe  no  man  any  thing.  Possibly  the  use 
of  the  Greek  word  for  dues  (ver.  7)  suggested  the 
form  of  statement  here.  The  Apostle  means  not 
that  indebtedness  is  a  sin,  but  that  no  debt  should 
go  unpaid,  but  to  love  One  another.  This  is  a 
universal  duty,  and  perpetual.  It  never  is,  but 
always  to  be,  paid.  It  is  a  great  and  significant 
fact  that  love  is  not  treated  in  N.T.  simply  as  a 
matter  of  impulse  or  emotion,  but  as  a  matter  of 
will.  It  is  commanded.  And  not  to  love  is  to  sin 
against  the  fundamental  law  of  a  personal  being. 
loveth  another.  R.V.,  "  his  neighbour  (jjiargin, 
the  other)."  The  Apostle  proceeds  to  prove  this, 
and  returns  to  the  statement  in  another  form  in 


Romans  xiii.  8-10  323 

ver.  10.  It  is  another  point  of  connection  between 
these  chapters  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus^  for  it  is 
hard  to  think  that  he  did  not  have  in  mind  the 
famous  incident  described  in  Matt.  xxii.  34-40 ; 
Mark  xii.  28-34;  Luke  x.  25-37.  The  law  of 
neighbourly  love  is  taken  from  Lev.  i.  18  (cf. 
Gal.  V.  14 ;  Jas.  ii.  8).  the  law.  R.V.  margin, 
"  law."  The  Apostle  is  thinking  of  the  Mosaic  law, 
for  he  quotes  part  of  it  in  the  next  verse,  but  his 
form  of  statement,  and  the  phrase  (ver.  9)  if  there 
be  any  other  commandment,  shows  that  he 
is  thinking  of  law  in  general,  such  as  the  conscience 
of  man  everywhere  imposes  upon  him. 

9.  The  citation  of  part  of  the  ten  command- 
ments (Ex.  XX.  3-7  ;  Deut.  v.  7-21)  is  similar  to 
that  in  Luke  xviii.  20.  In  the  N.T.  passages  the 
first  two  commandments  named  are  set  in  reverse 
order  from  that  in  O.T.  (cf.  Jas.  ii.  11).  R.V. 
omits  the  commandment  concerning  false  witness, 
briefly  comprehended  in  this  saying.  R.V., 
^^ summed  up  in  this  word"  (Eph.  i.  10).  The 
English  word  "  summarize  "  is  perhaps  the  nearest 
equivalent  to  the  Greek,  which  literally  means 
"headed  up." 

10.  Love  worketh  no  ill,  etc.  The  Apostle 
takes  the  negative  form,  because  that  is  the  form 
of  the  commandment  cited,  which  involves  an 
injury  done  to  other  persons.  Where  love  reigns 
these  wrongs  will  be  abolished  (cf.  1  Cor.  xiii. 
4-7).  Hence  it  is  that  he  adds,  returning  to 
ver.  8,  that  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  (R.V., 
"  the  fulfilment  of  the  law  ").  This  does  not  mean, 
as  some  have  foolishly  and  even  passionately  con- 
cluded, that  there  is  a  principle  of  love  which  takes 
the  place  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  laws  of  righteous- 


324   Westminster  New  Testament 

ness.  It  does  mean^  however^  that  the  man  in 
whom  this  principle  is  at  work  will  be  found  ful- 
filling all  the  commandments  under  its  power  and 
guidance.  It  is  at  once  an  organ  for  the  discovery 
of  the  evil  that  must  be  hated  (xii.  9),  and  the 
force  by  which  the  goodness  is  practised. 


Rom.  xiii.  11-14. 
6.  THE  URGENCY  OF  THE  HOUR. 

1 1  And  that,  knowing  the  time,  that  now  it  is  high  time  to 
awake  out  of  sleep  :  for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than 

12  when  we  believed.  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at 
hand  :  let  us  therefore  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,  and 

13  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of  light.  Let  us  walk  honestly, 
as  in  the  day  ;  not  in  rioting  and  drunkenness,  not  in 
chambering   and  wantonness,  not   in  strife  and  envying : 

14  but  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  pro- 
vision for  the  flesh  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  early  Church,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  apostles  who  interpreted  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  to  the  churches  which  they 
founded,  believed  that  the  day  of  Christ's  return 
was  not  far  off.  His  approaching  manifestation 
was  eagerly  waited  for,  and  that  threw  an  intense 
light  upon  the  problems  of  the  hour  in  which  they 
lived.  How  soon  this  intense  expectation  (cf. 
Phil.  iii.  20)  began  to  be  modified  in  the  general 
mind  of  the  Church  we  cannot  say.  We  certainly 
find  signs  in  the  writings  of  Paul  himself  that  he 
gradually  considered  it  possible  that  his  own  life 
should  end  before  the  coming  of  Christ.  The  long 
history  of  the  centuries  has  taught  us  to  think  of 
the  matter  in  another  way,  as  impossible  for  the 


Romans  xiii.  11-14  325 

early  disciples  as  their  way  is  for  us ;  and  each 
way  is  a  means  by  which  duty  is  interpreted^  faith 
is  stimulated^  hope  is  made  glorious.  For  each  in- 
dividual it  is^  of  course^  obvious  to  say  that  the  hour 
of  his  own  death  and  his  a})pearing  at  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  Christ  is  a  matter  concerning  which 
there  can  be  no  illusion  ;  it  is  hurrying  upon  each 
with  all  the  speed  of  time^  and  the  deep  moral 
exhortations  and  warnings  of  passages  like  this 
have  not  lost  their  force. 

11.  And  that.  R.V.,"  And  this."  The  Apostle 
refers  to  the  whole  scope  of  his  preceding  exhorta- 
tions, but  especially  as  they  are  summed  up  in  the 
fundamental  principle  of  love,  knowing  the 
time.  R.V.,  "the  season"  (2  Thess.  ii.  6).  The 
word  translated  "  time  "  or  "  season  "  is  sometimes 
translated  '^^opportunity"  (as  in  R.V.  margin  of 
Eph.  V.  16;  Col.  iv.  5).  The  word  refers  to  the 
whole  circumstances  in  which  Christians  were  put 
by  the  coming  of  Christ  and  His  gospel.  They 
felt  that  time  had  taken  on  a  new  form,  that  they 
lived  under  new  conditions,  new  opportunities. 
now  it  is  high  time  to  awake.  R.V.,  "high 
time  for  you  to  awake."  The  hearts  of  men  un- 
aware of  the  approach  of  Christ  were  as  men  in  deep 
sleep,  unaware  of  the  approach  of  dawn  and  the 
urgent  need  for  action,  for  nOW  is  OUr  salvation 
nearer.  R.V.,  "now  is  salvation  nearer  to  us 
{margin,  as  A.V.) "  (cf.  on  i.  I6,  v.  2,  10).  when 
we  believed.  R.V.,  "  first  believed,"  that  is  at 
their  conversion  (1  Cor.  iii.  5,  xv.  2,  11  ;  Gal.  ii.  I6). 

1 2.  This  very  beautiful  verse  derives  its  exquisite 
feeling  from  the  pictured  contrast  between  night 
and  day,  darkness  and  light,  the  feeling  of  aw^e 
and    urgency,   and   the   fact    that    the    dawn    is 


326   Westminster  New  Testament 

approaching.  The  figure  is  carried  on  in  the 
words  for  casting  off  and  putting  on^  as  of  men 
springing  from  slumber,  their  eyes  alight  with  the 
rising  sun,  and  in  the  contrast  between  the  works 
of  darkness,  which  are  being  put  off,  and  the 
armour  of  light  which  radiant  warriors  assume  for 
the  great  day's  fight,  armour  (cf.  vi.  13;  Eph. 
vi.  10-17;  iThess.  V.  8).  light  (cf.  Eph.  v.  7-14  ; 
Luke  xvi.  8  ;  John  xii.  35,  36). 

13.  honestly.  The  best  word  is  in  the  A.V. 
margin,  "decently,"  i.e.  having  regard  to  the 
proprieties  which  regulate  social  life,  so  that  even 
evil  men  shall  not  flaunt  their  shame  in  the  light 
of  day  (cf  1  Thess.  iv.  12;  1  Cor.  xiv.  40).  For 
the  sins  named  here,  cf  Gal.  v.  20,  21. 

14.  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Here 
is  the  true  armour  of  light  which  can  be  put  on 
even  before  the  dawn.  There  is  a  putting  on  of 
Christ  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  Christian  life 
(Gal.  iii.  27  ;  Rom.  vi.  3),  but  no  such  act  is  final. 
It  is  an  act  which  passes  into  a  process ;  a  relation- 
ship which  must  become  a  constant  fact ;  a  move- 
ment of  the  will  which  must  become  a  habit  of 
the  life.  Hence  we  find  the  Apostle  speaking  of 
putting  on  the  new  man  (Eph.  iv.  24  ;  Col.  iii.  10). 
It  was  in  reading  this  great  verse  that  St.  Augustine 
suddenly  heard  a  voice  which  gave  him  release 
from  his  life  of  sensual  darkness.  "No  further 
would  I  read,"  he  says,  "nor  need  I ;  for  instantly 
at  the  end  of  this  sentence,  by  a  light  as  it  were 
of  serenity  infused  into  my  heart,  all  the  darkness 
of  doubt  vanished  away."  provision  for  the 
flesh.  Men  must  not  concentrate  attention  on  the 
flesh  and  its  interests.  The  result  of  that  can  only 
be  that  they  must  act  according  to  its  promptings 


Romans  xiv.  i-xv.  13        337 

and  passions.  In  Acts  xxiv.  2,  the  word  is  trans- 
lated ^^  providence."  It  stands  for  a  thoughtful 
care,  a  concentration  of  the  mind  upon  the  field 
of  action. 

Rom.  xiv.  I -XV.  13. 

7.  THE  DUTY  OF  THE  STRONG. 

The  Apostle  suddenly  turns  to  an  entirely  new 
topic  and  discusses  it  at  considerable  length.  It 
is  most  unlikely  that  he  wrote  this  passage  in 
ignorance  of  special  conditions  at  Rome.  The 
discussion  is  too  pointed  and  too  definite  for  that. 
He  must  have  heard  from  some  of  his  Roman 
friends  that  difficulties  had  arisen  in  that  church 
on  the  matter  which  is  here  dealt  with.  It  is 
really  a  brief  essay  on  the  principle  of  toleration 
within  the  Christian  Church  ;  a  discussion  of  the 
manner  in  which  men  must  treat  one  another 
"who  mind  not  the  same  thing"  (xii.  I6  ;  xv.  ,5). 
When  division  of  opinion  arises  regarding  certain 
matters  of  conduct  in  which  one  portion  of  the 
Church  believes  that  its  conscience  is  involved, 
how  should  the  others,  whose  conscience  is  not 
troubled  in  the  same  regard,  act  towards  them } 
Many  a  Christian  community  has  been  split  into 
fragments  by  disputes  similar  to  this.  At  Rome  it 
would  seem  that  some  persons  abstained  from  the 
eating  of  meat,  and  at  the  same  time  observed 
certain  days  as  though  they  had  statutory  sanctity. 
Whether  these  were  Jews  or  not  it  is  impossible 
finally  to  decide.  The  question  is  presented  at  a 
different  angle  from  that  discussed  in  1  Cor.  viii., 
where  the  difficulty  was  created  in  relation  to 
meats  offered  to  idols,  the  eating  of  which  might 


328   Westminster  New  Testament 

involve  Christian  men  in  the  accusation  of  having 
worshipped  the  idol  to  whom  the  food  had  been 
presented.  There  is  no  reference  to  idols  in  this 
chapter.  It  would  seem  to  have  been  an  early 
phase  of  ascetic  Christianity,  perhaps  springing 
from  the  Essene  sect  of  the  Jews.  The  Apostle 
in  his  discussion  pierces  to  the  heart  of  the  matter 
when  he  first  forbids  one  party  to  judge  the  other 
(vers.  1-12),  and  then  lays  an  unexpectedly  strong 
emphasis  upon  the  duty  of  those  who  count  them- 
selves free  from  this  weakness  of  faith  to  deny 
themselves  for  the  sake  of  their  brethren  (vers. 
13-23).  Then  he  closes  his  argument  with  an 
appeal  to  the  example  of  Christ  and  an  exhortation 
to  great  energy  in  the  preserving  of  unity  amongst 
themselves,  that  the  praise  of  God  may  prevail 
amongst  them  above  all  the  differences  of  judg- 
ment which  obtain  in  their  midst  (xv.  1-13). 


{a)  The  presumptuous  judgment  (xiv.  i-i2). 

1  Him  that  is  weak  in  the  faith  receive  ye,  but  not  to  doubt- 

2  fill  disputations.     For  one   believeth  that  he  may  eat  all 

3  things :  another,  who  is  weak,  eateth  herbs.  Let  not 
him  that  eateth  despise  him  that  eateth  not ;  and  let  not 
him  which  eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth  :  for  God  hath 

4  received  him.  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  another  ma?n's 
servant  ?  to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth  ;  yeS,  he 
shall  be  holden  up  :  for  God  is  able  to  make  him  stand. 

5  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another :  another 
esteemeth  every  day  alike.     Let  every  man  be  fully  per- 

6  suaded  in  his  own  mind.  He  that  regardeth  the  day,  re- 
gardeth  it  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  he  that  regardeth  not  the 
day,  to  the  Lord  he  doth  not  regard  it.  He  that  eateth, 
eateth  to  the  Lord,  for  he  giveth  God  thanks ;  and  he  that 


Romans  xiv.  1-12  329 

eateth  not,  to   the  Lord  he  eateth  not,   and  giveth  God 

7  thanks.     For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man 

8  dieth  to  himself.  For  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the 
Lord ;  and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord : 
whether   we   live   therefore,   or   die,  we   are   the  Lord's. 

9  For  to  this  end  Christ  both  died,  and  rose,  and  revived, 

10  that  he  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  hving.  But 
why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother  ?  or  why  dost  thou  set  at 
nought  thy  brother?  for  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judg- 

11  ment  seat  of  Christ.  For  it  is  written.  As  I  live,  saith  the 
Lord,  every  knee  shall  bow  to  me,  and  every  tongue  shall 

12  confess  to  God.  So  then  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account 
of  himself  to  God. 

It  is  not  easy  to  subdivide  these  verses  into 
sections,  for  the  same  ideas  occur  throughout,  but 
there  is  certainly  a  movement  towards  a  climax  in 
that  he  begins  with  the  fact  that  in  a  Christian 
circle  two  sets  of  men  were  judging  each  other,  the 
one  with  contempt  for  the  weak  in  faith,  and  the 
other  (the  reference  is  not  made  to  them  in  the  same 
direct  fashion)  with  censorious  attitude  towards 
the  freedom  of  the  ^'^  strong."  In  the  central  })art 
of  the  paragraph  the  Apostle  concentrates  his 
statement  upon  the  fact  that  there  is  a  living  cord 
of  connection  between  each  man's  life  and  Christ, 
and  that  each  man  is  immediately  and  supremely 
responsible  to  Him  alike  in  his  weakness  or  in  his 
strength.  A  climax  is  reached  when  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  paragraph  it  is  shown  to  be  presump- 
tion on  the  part  of  any  human  being  who  judges 
his  brother,  as  all  alike  must  speedily  stand  before 
the  supreme  judgment-bar  of  God  Himself 

1.  Him  that  is.  R.V.,  "But  him  that  is."  It 
may  be  that  Paul's  mind  passes  from  the  thought 
of  those  who  might  live  for  the  flesh  (vers.  13,  14) 


330   Westminster  New  Testament 

to  those  who  might,  in  anxiety  to  be  free  of  its 
passions,  practise  asceticism  and  live  according  to 
rule.  weak.  The  word  is  used  in  this  sense  of 
a  conscience  given  to  scrupulosity  only  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  here  and  in  1  Cor.  viii.  in  the  faith. 
R.  V.  "  in  faith."  Faith  is  a  form  of  energy  alike  in  its 
enlightenment  as  to  the  truth  and  in  its  emotional 
content,  and  some  men  have  more  of  this  energy 
in  both  respects  than  others.  The  man  who  is 
weak  here  is  one  who  does  not  fully  comprehend 
the  freedom  which  he  has  in  Christ,  or  he  has  not 
yet  accepted  the  full  light  which  Christ  gives 
through  faith  upon  the  moral  tasks  of  life,  re- 
ceive ye.  That  is,  "take  them  into  your  full 
fellowship."  doubtful  disputations.  R.V.  margin, 
"  for  decisions  of  doubts."  Do  not  make  intercourse 
with  him  an  occasion  for  discussing  and  con- 
demning the  inward  argumentations  through 
which  his  conscience  has  become  confused.  Do 
not  be  resolved  that  you  shall  both  judge  and 
enlighten  him. 
2.  For  one  believeth  that  he  may.    R.V., 

"One  man  hath  faith  to."  another  whO  is 
weak.  R.V.,  "buthe  that  is  weak."  Faith  here 
means  that  confidence,  that  clearness  of  conscience, 
with  which  the  Christian  man  acts  as  knowing  the 
will  of  Christ,  herbs.  The  class  of  men  whom 
Paul  calls  "weak"  imagined  that  they  were  for- 
bidden to  eat  meats  and  practised  vegetarianism 
on  religious  grounds.  (No  argument  can  be  drawn 
from  this,  of  course,  against  those  who  defend 
vegetarianism  on  physiological  or  other  practical 
grounds.)  The  misery  is  that  men  should  interpret 
the  will  of  Christ  as  issuing  limitations  in  such 
matters. 


Romans  xiv.  1-12  331 

s.  despise.  R.V._,  ^^set  at  nought."  judge. 
The  two  classes  of  men  tend  to  look  at  each  other 
with  opposite  tempers.  A  strong  man  who  feels 
free  to  eat  what  is  set  before  him  is  apt  to  despise 
the  weakness  of  the  other.  The  latter,  who 
abstains  from  meats  on  religious  grounds,  is  apt  to 
be  censorious  and  to  condemn  as  irreligious  those 

who  disagree  with  him.    for  God  hath  received 

him.  Both  parties  are  reminded  that  God  received 
the  other  into  His  fellowship  when  they  received 
him  into  the  Church.  This  is  the  fundamental  fact 
concerning  each  man  which  must  not  be  lost  sight 
of  by  either,  and  which  is  implied  in  the  whole 
further  discussion  of  the  subject.  God  counts  each 
of  these  men  as  His  child  and  a  member  "of  the 
household  of  faith." 

4.  Who  art  thou  ?  Better,  "  Thou,  who  art 
thou  ? "  The  Apostle  immediately  takes  a  very 
stern  tone,  for  each  of  these  men  has  constituted 
himself  a  judge,  servant.  B..V.  margin,  "  house- 
hold servant."  Perhaps  this  most  unusual  word  is 
intended  to  suggest  that  there  is  impertinence  on 
his  part  who  interferes  with  the  functions  of  that 
household  of  which  the  Lord  alone  is  the  head. 
To  that  Lord  each  man  standeth  or  falleth  (cf. 
1  Cor.  X.  12;  Rev.  vi.  17).  he  shall  be  holden 
up.  R.V.,  "  made  to  stand."  That  is,  in  the  day 
of  Christ's  judgment,  for  God  is  able.  R.V., 
"  for  the  Lord  hath  power."  The  Apostle  is  not 
thinking  of  the  strong  here,  concerning  Mhom 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  stands,  but  concerning 
the  weak  whose  faith  is  unclear  and  whom  the 
strong  man  conceives  to  be  in  danger  of  lapsing 
from  the  faith.  It  is  an  act  of  faith  which  the 
strong  himself  must  exert  when  he  remembers  that 


332   Westminster  New  Testament 

the  weak  brother  is  in  the  hands  of  the  same  God, 
without  whom  he  himself  might  fall. 

5.  The  Apostle  now  passes  to  the  central  part  of 
his  argument  (vers.  5-9),  in  which  he  sets  out  in 
memorable  phrases  the  great  principle  of  individual 
responsibility  and  individual  freedom.  One  man 
esteemeth  one  day,  etc.  He  turns  from  the 
problem  of  food  to  the  question  of  holy  days  (cf. 
Gal.  iv.  10;  Col.  ii.  l6).  It  is  idle  to  ask  exactly 
what  happened  in  the  cases  of  which  he  writes, 
whether  on  these  holy  days  the  ascetic  feasted  or 
the  non-ascetic  fasted.  To  whatever  individuals 
this  may  be  addressed  it  is  evident  that  they 
assigned  a  definite  statutory  value  to  the  sanctity 
of  certain  days.  On  this  matter  the  Apostle  says, 
Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind.  R.V.,  "^^Let  each  man  be  fully  assured." 
These  are  among  the  great  words  of  the  N.T. 
which  mark  the  dawn  of  freedom  and  the  birth  of 
true  individualism.  Within  each  man's  mind  a 
life  so  rich  and  real  is  being  lived  that  he  must 
find  there  the  grounds  of  conviction  upon  which 
his  outward  life  is  to  be  ordered  ;  and  here  all  men 
are  alike,  the  trained  philosopher  and  the  humblest 
slave.  The  principle  of  his  conduct  is  not  to  be 
imposed  upon  him  by  the  judgments  and  criticism 
of  other  men.  He  must  find  it  within  himself 
in  his  oM^n  mind  (cf.  Rom.  i.  28,  vii.  23,  xii.  2  ; 
Col.  ii.  J  6). 

6.  Both  parties  are  supposed  to  be  living  sin- 
cerely in  fellowship  with  and  under  the  will  of 
Christ,  regardeth  the  day.  R.V.  omits  the 
next  clause,  "  and  he  that  regardeth  not  .  .  .  not 
regard  it."  for  he  giveth  God  thanks.  Whether 
it  be  meats  or  herbs  which  he  eats,  the  Christian 


Romans  xiv.  1-12 


333 


man  receives  them  from  God's  hands  and  "says 
grace/'  or  expresses  gratitude  for  them.  tO  the 
Lord  he  eateth  not.  He  who  refrains  from  meat, 
he  too  gives  thanks,  and  so  proves  that  his  restraint 
is  in  relation  to  Christ. 

1,  8.  These  verses  strike  the  fundamental 
principle  of  the  Christian  life.  It  is  ethical 
throughout  and  therefore  individual,  and  yet  the 
individualism  which  we  must  picture  is  not  that  of 
a  solitary  self,  but  of  a  being  living  in  persistent 
relations  with  Christ,  who  pervades  his  whole  life. 
The  Christian  man  does  not  find  his  motives  or 
rules  of  life  or  his  purposes  in  life  within  his  own 
reason,  but  within  the  relations  in  which  he  stands 
to  the  Lord.  This  applies  to  life  as  a  whole,  and 
even  to  death.  So  overmastering  is  the  power  of 
Christ,  so  permeating  the  influence  of  His  authority. 
A  man  has  received  life  and  he  will  receive  death 
from  his  Master,  and  he  must  take  each  and  use 
each  in  that  Master's  name. 

9.  Christ  both  died,  and  rose,  and  revived. 
R.V.,  "  Christ  died,  and  lived  again."  The  reference 
here  is  to  the  Resurrection,  but  the  verb  is  used 
thus  only  in  Rev.  ii.  8,  xiii.  14,  xx.  4,  5.  Alike 
Christ's  death  and  His  becoming  alive  again  were 
steps  or  means  by  which  He  became  Lord  in  the 
most  complete  sense  '^'^of  both  the  dead  and  the 
living"  (R.V.).     Cf.  Phil.  ii.  9-11. 

10.  But  why  dost  thou.  R.V.,  "But  thou, 
why  dost  thou,"  etc.  or  why  dost  thou.  R.V., 
"or  thou  again,  why  dost  thou."  The  Apostle 
addresses  both  parties  in  the  same  severe  form 
which  he  adopted  in  ver.  4,  as  if  to  say,  "  Who  are 
you  that  you  should  dare  to  act  as  lord  of  the 
other,  you  who  assume  to  judge,  or  you  who  dare 


334   Westminster  New  Testament 

to  despise  your  brother?"  He  answers  the  ques- 
tion by  assuming  that  they  are  shamed  into  silence 
by  the  overwhelming  argument  that  no  man  has  a 
right  thus  to  condemn  or  to  despise^  since  we 
shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ.  R.V.,  "the  judgment  seat  of  God"  (of. 
2  Cor.  V.  10).  The  word  translated  "  stand  before  " 
is  literally  we  shall  "present  ourselves"  before, 
and  occurs  above  (xii.  1).  As  here  we  present  our- 
selves to  God  for  His  service,  then  we  shall  present 
ourselves  to  God  for  His  judgment. 

11.  The  Apostle  supports  this  by  quoting 
Isa.  xlv.  23,  24,  Greek  trans,  (cf.  Phil."  ii.  10  f.). 
confess  to  God.  R.V.  margin,  "give  praise." 
This  word  is  used  of  the  confession  of  sins 
(Matt.  iii.  6),  or  the  utterance  of  praise  (M^tt.  xi. 
25  ;  Rom.  xv.  9). 

12.  So  then  everyone.  R.V.,  "So  then  each 
one."  This  most  emphatic  statement  winds  up 
the  first  part  of  the  discussion  (cf.  Matt.  xii.  ^d 
and  1  Pet.  iv.  5). 


(6)  Responsibility  for  social  influence  (xiv.  13-23). 

13  Let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another  any  more  :  but 
judge  this  rather,  that  no  man  put  a  stumblingblock  or  an 

14  occasion  to  fall  in  his  brother's  way.  I  know,  and  am 
persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  there  is  nothing  unclean 
of  itself :  but  to  him  that  esteemeth  any  thing  to  be  unclean, 

15  to  him  it  is  unclean.  But  if  thy  brother  be  grieved  with 
thy  meat,  now  walkest  thou  not  charitably.     Destroy  not 

16  him  with  thy  meat,  for  whom  Christ  died.     Let  not  then 

17  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of:  for  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
not  meat  and  drink  ;  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy 

18  in  the  Holy  Ghost.     For  he  that  in  these  things  serveth 


Romans  xiv.  13-23  335 

19  Christ  is  acceptable  to  God,  and  approved  of  men.  Let  us 
therefore  follow  after  the  things  which  make  for  peace,  and 

20  things  wherewith  one  may  edify  another.  For  meat  destroy 
not  the  work  of  God.     All  things  indeed  are  pure  ;  but  it 

21  is  evil  for  that  man  who  eateth  with  offence.  It  is  good 
neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  any  thing  where- 
by thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak. 

22  Hast  thou  faith  ?  have  it  to  thyself  before  God.  Happy  is 
he  that  condemneth  not   himself  in   that  thing  which   he 

23  alloweth.  Andhethatdoubteth  is  damned  if  he  eat,  because 
he  eateth  not  of  faith  :  for  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin. 

The  Apostle  turns  to  another  phase  of  the  ques- 
tion. He  concentrates  attention  upon  the  fact  that 
each  man's  conduct  has  an  influence  upon  that  of 
the  other.  In  a  living  brotherhood  mutual  influence 
is  inevitable.  Now  the  influence  of  the  weak 
brother  upon  the  strong  cannot  presumably  inter- 
fere with  the  clear  judgment  of  the  latter's  own 
conscience ;  but^  on  the  contrary,  the  strong  man 
may,  by  acting  as  he  believes  to  be  right  in  the 
matter  under  dispute,  produce  confusion  in  the 
conscience  of  the  weak  man.  The  worst  thing 
which  the  strong  man  can  do  is  to  lead  the  weak 
man  to  act  against  his  conscience.  This  is  simply 
to  ruin  him,  and  where  this  effect  is  produced  for 
the  sake  of  such  things  as  food-stuffs,  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  strong  man  is  very  heavy.  He  must 
learn  to  keep  his  own  judgment  clear,  but  to  exercise 
it  with  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  his  brother  ;  and 
he  must  maintain  this  clearness  of  judgment  not  by 
acting  upon  it  to  the  injury  of  his  brother,  but  by 
rejoicing  in  it  before  God.  For  the  deep  principle 
underlying  the  whole  matter  is  that  the  man  who 
performs  any  action  while  doubtful  about  its  right- 


336   Westminster  New  Testament 

eousness  brings  himself  under  the  condemnation  of 
God.  This  is  the  danger  into  which  the  strong 
man  by  his  influence  may  drag  the  weak. 

13.  Let  us  not  therefore  judge,  etc  The 
new  argument  presupposes  the  former  one  which  is 
here  repeated  (cf.  ii.  2 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  1-5),  but 
judge  this  rather.  R.V.,  "but  judge  ye  this 
rather."  The  word  "judge  "  is  sometimes  used  for 
making  up  one's  mind^  deciding  upon  a  mode  of 
conduct,  as  in  1  Cor.  ii.  2,  vii.  37  ;  2  Cor.  ii.  1  ; 
Acts  XX.  i6j  xxvii.  1.  stumblingblock  or  an 
occasion  to  fall.  R.V.,  "  or  an  occasion  of  falling  " 
(cf.  Rom.  ix.  32  ff. ;  1  Cor.  viii.  9,  x.  32 ;  and  Matt, 
xviii.  1-14).  The  strong  man  may,  perhaps  heed- 
lessly, make  his  free  conduct  a  great  danger  to  the 
man  whom  he  calls  his  brother. 

14.  I  know,  and  am  persuaded  by  the  Lord 
Jesus.  R.V.,  "in  the  Lord  Jesus."  The  Apostle 
here  openly  takes  his  place  on  the  side  of  those 
whom  he  calls  "the  strong"  and  accounts  for 
his  persuasion  by  his  sense  of  inward  fellowship 
with  Jesus,  who  is  the  Lord  of  his  life.  The  Lord 
Jesus  has  taught  him  that  there  is  nothing  un- 
clean of  itself:  perhaps  another  echo  of  the 
recorded  teaching  of  our  Lord  (Mark  vii.  14-23  ; 
cf  Acts  X.  14-28).  In  this  statement  the  Apostle 
asserts  the  liberty  of  the  Christian  man  to  handle 
all  things  in  nature  in  the  spirit  of  freedom.     tO 

him  that  esteemeth.  R.V.,  "save  that  to  him 
who  accounteth."  This  is  the  converse  of  the  other 
statement.  The  Apostle  with  piercing  anxiety 
understands  that  if  a  man,  for  even  a  wrong  reason, 
believes  that  a  certain  object  is  in  itself  unclean — 
that  is,  forbidden  by  God  for  his  use — as  long  as  that 
is  his  opinion  the  thing  is  actually  for  him  unclean. 


Romans  xiv.  13-23  337 

He  cannot  abandon  his  conscience  and  merely  act 
upon  the  conscience  of  the  strong  man. 

15.  But  if  thy  brother  be  grieved  with  thy 
meat.  R.V.^  "  For  if  because  of  meat  thy  brother 
is  grieved."  now  walkest  thou  not  charitably. 
R.V.^  "thou  walkest  no  longer  in  love."  The  grief 
here  is  probably  not  the  mere  resentment  which  the 
weak  man  may  feel  at  the  action  of  the  strong 
man,  but  it  is  that  grief  which  will  be  awakened  in 
his  conscience  if  the  weak  man  is  allowed  to  treat 
as  clean  that  which  he  believes  to  be  unclean.  If 
the  strong  man  has  brought  this  about  he  has 
forsaken  the  principle  of  love  as  the  rule  of  action. 
Destroy  not,  etc.  This  startling  and  broad 
command  goes  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  The  life 
of  a  man  is  in  his  conscience,  and  that  life  is 
destroyed  if  he  is  influenced  to  act  against  his  con- 
science. The  man  who  so  influences  him  is,  there- 
fore, counteracting  the  force  of  the  cross  of  Christ 
(cf.  1  Cor.  X.  32,  33). 

16.  Let  not  then  your  good  be  evil  spoken 
of.  Lit.,  "be  blasphemed."  The  word  for  good, 
while  used  in  varied  senses  by  the  Apostle,  seems 
to  refer  here  to  the  boon  of  liberty  which  the 
strong  man  consciously  possesses.  If  he  uses  it  to 
override  the  conscience  of  his  brother  his  liberty 
will  become  the  object  even  of  an  unholy  hatred. 
In  Philem.  14  an  interesting  parallel  occurs, 
where  the  Apostle  wishes  his  friend's  '-  goodness  " 
to  consist  in  his  free  choice  regarding  Onesimus. 
(Cf.  1  Cor.  X.  29,  where  his  own  liberty  in  a  parallel 
situation  is  at  stake.) 

17.  The  great  motive  for  mutual  charity,  the 
very  ground  for  letting  love  rule,  even  over 
personal  judgment,  is  the  fact  of  the  kingdom  of 

22 


338    Westminster  New  Testament 

God.  The  man  who  lives  m  that  kingdom  knows 
that  the  substance  of  it  is  not  to  be  found  in 
bodily  acts^  but  in  the  principle  "  of  righteousness 
and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  These  are 
the  real  riches  of  the  kingdom.  We  must  not 
pare  down  these  words  to  any  partial  meaning. 
Righteousness  in  all  its  senses  is  before  the  Apostle's 
mind.  Joy  is  frequently  connected  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  (Rom.  xv.  13;  1  Thess.  i.  6;  Gal.  v.  22;  cf. 
Acts  xiii.  52 ;  1  John  i.  4  ;  1  Pet.  i.  8).  While 
the  Apostle  usually  speaks  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
in  reference  to  its  full  establishment  at  the  appear- 
ing of  Christy  he  recognizes  its  presence  wherever 
the  reign  of  Christ  has  actually  begun  over  human 
hearts  (cf  1  Cor.  iv.  20). 

18.  in  these  things.  R.V.,  "herein."  It  is  in 
these  deep  principles  of  the  kingdom  of  God  that 
a  man  realizes  the  service  of  Christ,  acceptable. 
R.V.,  "  well-pleasing."  approved  of  men.  The 
Apostle  recognizes  that  the  judgment  of  men  is 
an  important  matter.  It  may,  indeed,  become  a 
source  of  danger,  and  a  man  must  not  deliberately 
make  it  a  goal  of  life  (cf  2  Cor.  xiii.  7). 

19.  Let  us  therefore  follow  after.   R.V.,  "So 

then  let  us  follow  after  {margin,  we  follow)." 
Literally  this  may  be  read,  "  So  then  we  pursue 
things  which  make  for  peace."  Peace  here,  as 
above,  in  all  senses  of  the  word — the  weak  man's 
peace  with  God,  the  peace  of  mutual  love  between 
brethren — must  be  sedulously  sought,  and  things 
wherewith,  etc.  R.V.,  "whereby  we  may  edify 
one  another."  Paul's  mind  for  some  reason  ran 
much  on  this  word  when  writing  to  Corinth,  the 
verb  and  noun  occurring  fifteen  times  in  these  two 
letters.     It  means  "to  build,"  and  arises  from  his 


Romans  xiv.  13-23  339 

conception  of  the  Christian  unity  as  a  structure 
which  is  being  raised,  and  within  which  a  household 
Ufe  is  being  lived. 

20.  For  meat  destroy  not  the  work  of  God. 
R.V.,  "  Overthrow  not  for  meat's  sake."  The  work 
of  God  is  the  building  which  is  being  reared  by 
His  Spirit,  and  of  which  each  man  is  a  part  (cf. 
1  Cor.  iii.  10-17;  Eph.  ii.  19-22).  All  things 
indeed  are  pure.   R.V.,  "are  clean"  (cf.  Tit. 

i.  15).  This  is  the  positive  side  of  the  statement 
(ver.  14)  that  '^'^  nothing  is  unclean  of  itself."  The 
second  part  of  ver.  14  is  repeated  here  in  other  words. 
The  clean  thing  becomes  evil  for  the  man  who 
in  partaking  of  it  has  his  conscience  offended  (cf 
on  Rom.  ix.  32,  33,  xiv.  13).  As  Dr.  Denney  well 
puts  it,  ''  All  meat  is  clean  but  not  all  eating." 

21.  It  is  good,  etc.  The  word  for  good  means 
something  fine  and  noble.  The  man  who  will 
abstain  from  these  indulgences  for  the  sake  of  his 
brother,  even  when  feeling  that  the  latter's  con- 
science is  a  confused  conscience,  is  performing  an 
act  of  moral  beauty.  R.V.  inserts  only  in  margin 
the  last  two  clauses  "  or  is  offended,  or  is  weak." 

22.  Hast  thou  faith?  etc.  R.V.,  "The  faith 
which  thou  hast,  have  thou  to  thyself  before  God." 
The  strong  man  who  rejoices  in  his  faith  that  all 
things  are  clean  must  keep  it  as  a  matter  between 
himself  and  God.  Even  that  clear  judgment 
must  be  cherished  with  a  sense  of  responsibility. 
happy  is  he  that  condemneth  not.  R.V., 
"judgeth  not."  alloweth.  R.V.,  "approveth 
{niargin,  putteth  to  the  test)."  He  is  indeed  to 
be  felicitated  who  has  this  clear  conscience  and  for 
himself  has  come  into  its  light,  but  he  must  re- 
member ever  his  unceasing  relations  with  others. 


340    Westminster  New  Testament 

23.  And  he  that  doubteth  is  damned  if  he 
eat.  R.V.,  "  But  he  that  doubteth  is  condemned  if 
he  eat."  This  is  addressed  to  the  strong  man. 
Happy  in  his  own  clear  conscience,  he  must  watch 
over  the  doubting  man  who  comes  under  the  very 
condemnation  of  God  if  he  eateth  while  in  doubt. 
Only  a  clear  faith,  only  a  sure  judgment  can 
stand  before  the  scrutiny  of  God's  Spirit.  The 
Apostle  sums  it  all  up  in  the  saying  whatsoever 
is  not  of  faith  is  sin.  Faith  in  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  is  a  theme  of  the  whole  epistle.  Here 
it  stands  out  suddenly  as  the  source  of  the  whole 
reorganization  of  society,  the  whole  transforming 
of  the  relations  of  men.  Only  when  this  faith, 
realizing  itself  in  a  life  of  love,  of  considerateness 
for  the  deepest  interest  of  other  men,  w^hich  is  the 
state  of  their  conscience,  has  become  the  actual 
moulding  force  of  society  can  the  new  structure 
be  raised,  which  is  the  temple  of  God. 


(c)  Summary  of  the  situation  (xv.  1-13). 

1  We  then  that  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of 

2  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves.     Let  every  one  of 

3  us  please  his  neighbour  for  his  good  to  edification.  For 
even  Christ  pleased  not  himself ;  but,  as  it  is  written,  The 

4  j'eproaches  of  them  that  reproached  thee  fell  on  me.  For 
whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime  were  written  for 
our  learning,  that  we  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the 

5  Scriptures  might  have  hope.  Now  the  God  of  patience 
and  consolation  grant  you  to  be   likeminded   one   toward 

6  another  according  to  Christ  Jesus :  that  ye  may  with  one 
mind  and  one  mouth  glorify  God,  even  the  Father  of  our 

7  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Wherefore  receive  ye  one  another,  as 

8  Christ  also  received  us,  to  the  glory  of  God.     Now  I  say 


Romans  xv.  1-13  341 

that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision  for  the 

truth   of  God,  to   confirm    the   promises   made   unto    the 

9  fathers :  and   that   the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God  for  his 

mercy :   as  it  is  written,  For  this  cause  I  will  confess  to 

10  thee  a?nong  the  Gentiles,  and  sing  unto  thy  name.     And 

11  again  he  saith,  Rejoice,  ye  Gentiles,  with  his  people.  And 
again.  Praise  the  Lord,  all  ye  Gentiles  ;  and  laud  him,  all 

12  ye  people.  And  again,  Esaias  saith.  There  shall  be  a  root 
of  Jesse,  and  he  that  shall  rise  to  reign  over  the  Gentiles  ; 

13  in  him  shall  the  Gentiles  trust.  Now  the  God  of  hope  fill 
you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  that  ye  may  abound 
in  hope,  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

For  the  connection  of  this  with  the  preceding 
chapter  see  the  Introduction.  In  any  case^  it 
is  easy  to  see  that  the  paragraph  before  us  is 
immediately  connected  in  thought  and  language 
with  the  argument  of  chap,  xiv.j  especially  in  its 
opening  statements  (vers.  1^  2).  It  then  cites  the 
example  of  Christ  as  foreshadowed  in  Scripture 
language  (vers.  3,  4) ;  then  offers  a  prayer  for  unity 
of  mind  among  the  Roman  Christians  (vers.  5,  6)  ; 
cites  further  Scripture  to  show  that  even  between 
Jew  and  Gentile  Christ  has  come  to  establish  unity 
according  to  the  purpose  of  God  (vers.  7-12);  and 
then  closes  with  a  prayer  of  intercession  on  be- 
half of  the  whole  community  of  Roman  Christians 
(ver.  13). 

1.  We  then  that  are  strong.  R.V.,  "Now 
we/'  etc.  The  Apostle  once  more  classes  himself 
with  those  whom  throughout  the  argument  he 
describes  as  the  strong,  those  who  had  no  con- 
scientious objections  arising  from  the  use  of  meat 
or  wine,  or  the  non-observance  of  sacred  days. 
to  bear.  Cf.  Gal.  vi.  2  ff.  It  is  a  burden  for 
the  man  with  a  free  conscience  on  such    matters 


342    Westminster  New  Testament 

to  have  patience  with  the  scruples  of  his  brother, 
infirmities  of  the  weak.  The  words  almost 
carry  with  them  a  tone  of  contempt,  which  may  be 
brought  out  by  the  literal  translation,  "  the  weak- 
nesses of  the  impotent."  Although  inwardly  the 
Apostle  has  not  much  respect  for  the  judgment  of 
these  brethren,  he  yet  cherishes  profound  reverence 
for  their  conscience,  and  will  therefore  remember 
as  a  burden  their  error  that  he  may  save  their  honour. 
not  to  please  ourselves.  To  be  well-pleasing 
to  God  is  the  ideal  of  the  Christian  purpose,  but 
that  can  only  be  realized  by  men  in  whom  love 
reigns  supreme.  Selfishness  is  devious  and  is  hate- 
ful to  God.  Yet  we  must  remember  that  there  is 
a  pleasing  of  men  which  is  evil,  as  Gal.  i.  10,  vi.  6. 

2.  Let  every  one  of  us.  R.V,,  "  Let  each  one 
of  us."  for  his  good.  R.V.,  "for  that  which  is 
good."  The  strong  must  not  merely  try  to  please 
the  individual  with  a  weak  acquiescence,  but  must 
keep  before  him  the  purpose  for  which  he  yields 
his  own  judgment.  It  is  to  secure  a  greater  good, 
namely,  the  purity  of  his  neighbour's  conscience, 
and  this  unto  edifying,  that  the  building  of  God's 
house  may  proceed.  To  act  otherwise  is  to  tear  it 
down. 

3.  For  even  Christ.  R.V.,  "  For  Christ  also," 
etc.  The  Apostle  appeals  to  the  fact  that  Christ 
lived  wholly  for  others  and  endured  uimamed  and 
unnumbered  burdens.  A  suggestion  of  these  bur- 
dens is  given  in  the  quotation  from  Scripture 
(Ps.  Ixix.  10).  It  is  curious  that  the  Apostle  does 
not  refer  to  any  event  or  act  in  Christ's  life,  but 
falls  back  upon  this  strange  adaptation  of  a  phrase 
in  the  Psalter.  This  is  explicable  only  because  of 
his  conviction  that  Scripture  represents  the  very 


Romans  xv.  1-13  343 

mind  of  God.  The  words  of  the  Psalmist  are, 
however,  diverted  from  their  original  meaning. 
What  a  man  says  to  God  in  that  Psalm  Christ  is 
represented  here  as  addressing  to  every  man.  (it 
is  to  be  noted  that  this  69th  Psalm  is  quoted  with 
great  frequency  in  the  N.T.  John  ii.  17  quotes 
ver.  9 ;  John  xv.  25,  ver.  4  ;  Matt,  xxvii.  34,  ver. 
21  ;  Rom.  xi.  9,  ver.  22  ;  Acts  i.  20,  ver.  25.) 

4.  written  aforetime.  Cf.  2  Tim.  iii.  1 6.  This 
verse  is  almost  a  parenthesis.  The  Apostle  asserts 
that  the  Scripture  writings,  for  only  these  does  he 
think  of,  were  by  Divine  foresight  and  provision 
prepared  for  the  instruction  of  us  Christians.  But 
here,  as  in  the  passage  in  Timothy,  the  function  of 
these  Scriptures  is  said  to  be  moral  and  spiritual. 
They  were  intended  to  strengthen  against  trial 
and  in  sorrow  the  hearts  of  men.  patience  and 
hope.  Cf.  V.  3,  viii.  25.  Hope,  as  we  learn  from 
ver.  13,  is  a  boon  which  rises  out  of  the  faith  which 
Christ  has  awakened  and  which  God  confirms  by 
His  written  word. 

5.  The  Apostle  offers  a  brief  and  beautiful  prayer 
of  intercession  on  behalf  of  his  Roman  brethren. 

It  is  addressed  to  the  God  of  patience  and 

consolation  (R.V.,  "comfort").  Cf.  2  Cor.  i.  3. 
The  object  of  the  prayer  is  that  they  may  come 
to  be  likeminded  (R.V.,  "of  the  same  mind"). 
This  cannot  mean,  of  course,  that  they  should 
all  hold  the  same  opinions,  for  it  is  evident  they 
do  not,  and  the  prayer  is  based  upon  that  fact. 
But  there  may  be  a  difference  of  opinion  and  yet 
a  unity  of  mind  according  to  Christ  Jesus 
(cf.  2  Cor.  xi.  17  ;  Col.  ii.  8  ;  Rom.  viii.  27).  This 
phrase  is  not  an  appeal  to  the  character  but  to  the 
authority  of  Jesus  Christ.     It  is  His  will  that  men 


344   Westminster  New  Testament 

should  live  in  accord  of  spirit^  even  when  they  have 
differences  of  judgment  on  matters  of  conduct. 

6.  The  ultimate  aim  of  this  like-mindedness  is 
said  to  be  the  glorifying  of  God.  that  ye  may, 
etc.  R.V.,  "that  with  one  accord/'  etc.  The 
Greek  word  is  used  here  whose  significance  comes 
out  in  Acts  i.  14,  ii.  46,  v.  12.  one  mouth. 
This  powerful  expression  emphasizes  the  unity  of 
faith  and  joy,  the  inner  harmony  of  spirit  which 
finds  expression  in  the  praise  of  God.  God,  even 
the  Father  of,  etc.  R.V.,  "the  God  and 
Father  of,"  etc.  Paul  uses  this  phrase  also  in 
2  Cor.  i.  3,  xi.  31  ;  Eph.  i.  3.  In  its  fulness  it 
is  a  marvellous  title  of  that  Godhead  which  we 
worship,  for  in  calling  Him  the  God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  very  name  of  Christ 
is  taken  up  into  an  intimacy  of  union  with  the 
name  of  God  which  must  be  eternal,  and  which 
belongs  to  the  very  essence  of  Christ  Himself. 

7.  Wherefore  receive  ye  one  another. 
These  words  are  addressed  to  the  weak  as  well 
as  to  the  strong,  and  describe  their  mutual 
duty,  basing  the  exhortation  upon  the  fact  that 
Christ  had  Himself  already  in  His  royal  grace 
received  them  all.  received  US.  R.V.,  "received 
you "  {inargin,  "  us ").  We  may  connect  the 
words  to  the  glory  of  God  either  with  the  first 
or  the  second  clause.  The  meaning  is  not  altered, 
for  whether  it  is  Christ  who  received  us  for  that 
end,  or  we  that  received  one  another  because 
Christ  so  received  us,  the  end  is  the  same  for  all 
concerned.  Perhaps  there  is  a  reminder  that 
Christ  had  to  receive  us  who  differ  far  more  from 
Him  in  judgment  and  character  than  we,  whether 
weak   or   strong,   differ,    or   can   differ,   from    one 


Romans  xv.  1-13  345 

another.  No  burden  we  bear  can  equal  the  burden 
He  bears  ;  no  gulf  can  our  charity  cross  wider  than 
His  grace  has  crossed  to  reach  and  take  hold  of  us. 

8.  Now  I  say  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a 
minister.  R.V.^  'Tor  I  say  that  Christ  hath 
been  made  a  minister,"  The  Apostle  passes  out 
here  from  the  relation  of  the  weak  and  the  strong 
to  that  of  the  Jew  and  the  Gentile,  and  many 
have  surmised  that  this  indicates  that  most  of  the 
scrupulous  vegetarians  and  observers  of  sacred  days 
were  Jews,  and  perhaps  all  of  those  who  ignored 
these  things  were  Gentiles.  Hence  the  need  for 
once  more  emphasizing  the  unity  of  the  two  racial 
groups  in  Christ.  Christ  is  said  here  to  have  been 
a  minister,  literally,  a  servant  or  deacon  of 
circumcision  who  came  under  the  law.  He  ful- 
filled the  Jewish  covenant;  He  manifested  to  the 
utmost  the  faithfulness  of  God  to  His  ancient 
promise  made  to  the  fathers  (cf.  Gal.  iv.  4,  5  ; 
Eph.  ii.  11-18).  for  the  truth  of  God.  That 
the  faithfulness  of  God  to  His  ancient  promises 
might  be  realized  and  established  (2  Gor.  i.  10). 

9.  But  Christ  was  made  a  minister  for  another 
reason,  that  the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God 
for  his  mercy.  The  Gentiles  are  overwhelmed 
by  one  aspect  of  God's  grace,  His  pitifulness,  His 
power  to  rescue  them  from  their  unfathomed  woe. 
The  aspect  presented  to  the  Jew  is  His  faithfulness, 
His  loyalty  to  the  word  once  given,  and  the  long 
patience  now  consummated.  The  quotation  is 
from  Ps.  xviii.  50,  Greek  trans.  For  this  cause  I 
will  confess  to  thee.  R.V.,  "Therefore  will  I 
give  praise  unto  thee"  (cf.  Rom.  xiv.  11). 

10.  Quotes  Deut.  xxxii.  43,  Greek  trans. 

11.  Quotes  Ps,  cxvii.  1,  Greek  trans,     and  laud 


346   Westminster  New  Testament 

him,  all  ye  people.  R.V.^  "  and  let  all  the  people 
praise  him." 

12.  Quotes  Isa.   xi.  10.    he  that  shall  rise 

to  reign.  R.V.,  "he  that  ariseth  to  rule."  in 
him  shall  the  Gentiles  trust.  R.V.,  "hope." 
Throughout  these  quotations,  characterized  by  a 
reference  to  the  joy  of  the  Gentiles  at  the 
revelation  of  Jehovah's  might  and  grace  to  them 
all,  we  are  to  recognize  the  purpose  of  the  Apostle, 
which  is  to  emphasize  the  unity  of  Jew  and  Gentile 
now  established  through  the  ministry  of  Christ. 
This  unity  is  the  very  end  and  aim  of  His  incarna- 
tion, His  death,  and  His  resurrection.  It  is  one  of 
the  main  topics  of  discussion  in  Ephesians  and 
Colossians. 

13.  This  verse  abounds  with  the  new  sense  of 
confidence  which  the -gospel  has  awakened  in  the 
human  heart.  No  religion  has  ever  awakened  such 
emotions,  containing  within  them  not  merely  the 
promise  of  future  blessedness  but  the  vision  of  a 
blessedness  which  fills  all  men  even  now.  Hope 
the  Apostle  recognizes  as  one  of  the  very  springs 
of  life,  and  he  prays  that  his  readers  may  abound 
in  it. 

PART  V.    PERSONALIA. 

(Rom.  XV.  14-xvi.  27.) 

These  paragraphs  constitute  the  epilogue  to  the 
Apostle's  great  message  to  the  church  in  Rome. 
(1)  The  first  paragraph  describes  the  spirit  of  his 
apostleship  (xv.  14-21).  (2)  Then  he  describes  and 
discusses  his  plans  for  visiting  Rome,  a  matter  to 
which  he  had  already  referred  in  the  first  chapter 
(xv.  22-29).      (3)  This  is  followed  with  a  brief  plea 


Romans  xv.  14-21  347 

for  their  intercession  on  his  behalf  as  he  apprehends 
the  great  danger  involved  in  his  projected  visit  to 
Jerusalem  (xv.  30-33).  (4)  A  personal  introduction 
(xvi.  1^  2).  (5)  Then  follows  a  long  list  of  personal 
salutations  (xvi.  3-1 6).  (6)  A  brief  but  stern  warn- 
ing against  divisions  is  introduced^  mitigated  by 
a  restatement  of  his  confidence  in  their  devotion 
(xvi.  17-20).  (7)  A  group  of  companions  who  are 
around  him  as  he  writes  unite  in  sending  their 
greetings  (xvi.  21-23).  (8)  Finally,  we  have  the 
sublime  doxology  (xvi.  25-27). 

Rom.  XV.  14-21. 
I.  THE  SPIRIT  OF  PAUL'S  APOSTLESHIP. 

14  And  I  myself  also  am  persuaded  of  you,  my  brethren,  that 
ye  also  are  full  of  goodness,  filled  with  all  knowledge,  able 

15  also  to  admonish  one  another.  Nevertheless,  brethren, 
I  have  written  the  more  boldly  unto  you  in  some  sort,  as 
putting  you  in  mind,  because  of  the  grace  that  is  given  to 

16  me  of  God,  that  I  should  be  the  minister  of  Jesus  Christ 
to  the  Gentiles,  ministering  the  gospel  of  God,  that  the 
offering    up   of  the    Gentiles  might   be  acceptable,  being 

17  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  have  therefore  whereof 
I  may  glory  through  Jesus  Christ  in  those  things  which 

18  pertain  to  God.  For  I  will  not  dare  to  speak  of  any  of 
those   things  which   Christ  hath  not  wrought  by  me,   to 

19  make  the  Gentiles  obedient,  by  word  and  deed,  through 
mighty  signs  and  wonders,  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  ;  so  that  from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  unto 
Illyricum,    I   have   fully  preached   the   gospel   of   Christ. 

20  Yea,  so  have  I  strived  to  preach  the  gospel,  not  where 
Christ  was  named,  lest  I  should  build  upon  another  man's 

21  foundation :  but  as  it  is  written,  To  ^vJioni  he  %vas  not 
spoken  of,  they  shall  see  :  and  they  that  have  not  heard  shall 
vndersfand. 


348   Westminster  New  Testament 

The  Apostle  offers  a  half  apology  for  the  frank- 
ness with  which  he  has  written  to  them  (vers.  14, 
15).  He  explains,  however,  that  this  was  done  in 
the  fulfilment  of  his  task  as  the  minister  of  Christ, 
in  whom  alone  his  confidence  and  boasting  are 
grounded  (vers.  l6,  17).  He  will  suggest  rather 
than  dwell  upon  the  great  work  which  Christ  has 
done  through  his  apostleship  over  a  large  portion 
of  the  Empire  where  he  has  gone,  always  in  regions 
untouched  by  other  apostles,  that  he  might  establish 
the  gospel  in  new  regions  (vers.  18-21). 

14.  And  I  myself  also.  The  half-apologetic 
tone  is  better  brought  out  by  saying,  "Even  I 
myself  am  persuaded  of  you."  He  feels  that  he 
has  spoken  with  great  frankness  and  freedom,  but 
asserts  his  conviction  that  this  arises  from  no 
suspicion  of  their  failure,  full  of  gOOdneSS. 
On  the  contrary,  he  knows  them  to  be  possessed 
of  that  good-heartedness  and  uprightness  which 
characterize  the  men  of  Christ  (Gal.  v.  22  ; 
2  Thess.  i.  11;  Eph.  v.  9).  all  knowledge. 
Much  as  he  has  tried  to  teach  them,  he  is  con- 
vinced also  that  they  are  well  grounded  in  the 
full  Christian  truth.  This  is  a  most  significant 
and  valuable  testimony,  for  it  establishes  the  fact 
that  the  churches  which  arose  in  different  parts  of 
the  Empire  arose  upon  the  same  fundamental 
doctrines  of  the  Christian  fliith.  The  words  "full" 
and  "filled"  are  used  in  a  strikingly  different 
context  in  i.  29.  admonish  one  another.  He 
recognizes  also  that  they  have  both  authority  and 
qualification  for  mutual  instruction. 

15.  Nevertheless,  brethren,  I  have  written 
the  more  boldly  unto  you  in  some  sort.  R.V., 
"But  I  write  the  more  boldly  unto  you  in  some 


Romans  xv.  14-21  349 

measure."  The  word  for  "measure"  is  usually  in- 
terpreted as  meaning  "  part  of  the  epistle."  It 
is  not  certain  to  what  he  refers.  If  he  is  thinking 
of  some  one  part^  then  it  is  most  likely  chap,  xiv., 
where  he  dealt  so  boldly  with  what  must  have 
been  a  delicate  situation.  If  he  is  thinking  of 
various  portions  of  the  letter,  he  is  probably  re- 
ferring to  the  bold  exposure  of  sin  in  the  earlier 
chapters  and  the  personal  exhortations  and 
direction  which  began  with  chap.  xii.  as  putting 
you  in  mind.  R.V.,  "as  putting  you  again  in 
remembrance."  the  grace  that  is  given.  R.V., 
"the  grace  that  was  given."  He  is  referring,  of 
course,  to  the  grace  of  apostleship  (cf.  i.  5,  xii.  3  ; 
Eph.  iii.  7  ;  Col.  i.  25  ff.). 

16.  the  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  R.V.,  "a 
minister  of  Christ  Jesus."  Same  word  as  in  xiii.  6, 
implying  an  official,  perhaps  even  a  priestly, 
service,  ministering  the  gospel  of  God.  R.V. 
margm,  "and  ministering  in  sacrifice."  that  the 
offering  up  of  the  Gentiles  might  be  accept- 
able. R.V.,  "might  be  made  acceptable."  The 
three  words  used  here,  draAvn  from  functions  of  the 
priesthood,  are  often  understood  to  mean  that  the 
Apostle  thinks  of  himself  as  a  priest  "  standing  at 
the  altar  as  priest  of  the  gospel."  The  offering 
which  he  makes  is  the  Gentile  Church — an  in 
terpretation  which  is  by  no  means  necessary 
Definitely  the  Apostle  describes  himself  as  minister- 
ing the  gospel.  If  this  is  the  priestly  office,  it 
means  that  he  is  representing  God  among  men  as 
a  priest  was  supposed  to  do,  and  what  he  brings  to 
them  as  the  great  blessing  of  God  is  His  gospel. 
There  is  no  necessity  for  believing  that  the  phrase 
"the  offering  up  of  the    Gentiles"    refers  to  his 


350   Westminster  New  Testament 

offering  them  up  at  the  last  day,  which  would 
surely  be  a  most  daring  and  un-Pauline  conception 
(yet  cf.  the  modified  form  of  statement,  Col.  i.;28). 
There  is  nothing  to  prevent  our  understanding 
"  the  offering  up  of  the  Gentiles  "  as  being  their 
own  act  in  response  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 
(Cf.  Heb.  X.  10,  where  the  offering  up  of  the  body 
of  Jesus  Christ  is,  of  course,  performed  by  Himself) 
The  Apostle  does  not  say  distinctly  who  offers  the 
Gentiles.  It  is  more  natural  to  connect  this  with 
xii.  1,  where  they  are  exhorted  to  present  them- 
selves in  sacrifice  to  God.  being"  sanctified  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Instead  of  outward  tests 
applied  to  the  ancient  sacrifices,  which  were  to  be 
without  spot  or  blemish,  the  new  test  is  here  said 
to  be  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit. 

17.  I  have  therefore  whereof  I  may  glory 
through  Jesus  Christ.  R.V.,  "  I  have  therefore 
my  glory  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  human  impulse  to 
rejoice  (cf.  Phil.  ii.  17)  and  to  boast  is  unrestrain- 
able  even  in  Paul ;  but  it  is  an  admirable  trait  when 
it  is  rightly  conditioned.  The  tM^o  essential  con- 
ditions are  named  by  him  here  :  first,  his  boasting 
is  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  second,  it  is  concerned  with  the 
things  of  God  (cf  Heb.  ii.  17). 

18.  For  I  will  not  dare.  The  emphatic  word, 
rendered  '^^  more  boldly"  in  ver.  15,  is  echoed  here. 

to  speak  of  any  of  those  things,  etc.  R.V., 
"  to  speak  of  any  things  save  those  which  Christ 
wrought  through  me."  Either  translation  is  correct, 
but  the  meaning  slightly  different.  In  the  one  case 
(A.V.)  the  Apostle  means  that  he  will  not  attempt 
to  describe  the  triumphs  of  the  other  apostles.  In 
the  other  case  he  means  that  he  will  not  dare  to 
tell  them  of  anything  in  his  own  life  or  achieve- 


Romans  xv.  14-21  351 

ment  except  what  Christ  has  done  through  him  as 
a  mere  instrument  of  the  Divine  will,  to  make 
the  Gentiles  obedient.  R.V.,  '^'  for  the  obedience 
of  the  Gentiles."  by  word, — that  is^  by  his  preach- 
ing, and  deed, — that  is^  all  else  in  his  active  life 
which  contributed  to  his  work  and  its  success. 

19.  through  mighty  signs  and  wonders. 
R.V.,  "  in  the  power  of  signs  and  wonders."  N.T. 
uses  three  words  for  what  we  call  miracles.  They 
all  occur  in  Acts  ii.  22  ;  2  Thess.  ii.  9  ;  2  Cor.  xii. 
12  ;  Heb.  ii,  4.  Two  words — wonders  and  signs — 
always  occur  together^  the  one  expressing  the  idea 
of  power  and  the  other  that  of  significance.  A 
miracle  in  the  N.T.  is  a  work  which  not  merely 
manifests  superhuman  energy,  but  contains  a  Divine 
meaning  and  message.  The  word  "  power  "  refers 
in  this  verse  not  to  the  miracles  themselves,  but  to 
the  influence  which  they  had  upon  those  wdio  saw 
them.  The  Apostle  always  claims  that  his  work 
was  accompanied  by  such  manifestations  of  the 
might  of  God  (cf  2  Cor.  xii.  12).  SO  that,  etc. 
R.V.,  "  even  unto  Illyricum."  The  word  "  round 
about "  is  applied  by  some  to  the  vicinity  of 
Jerusalem,  but  most  generally  understood  as  de- 
scribing the  sweep  of  his  journeyings  from  Jeru- 
salem through  Samaria,  Asia  Minor,  Macedonia,  to 
that  point  at  which  he  was  nearest  to  Rome.  We 
have  no  record  of  any  work  done  by  the  Apostle 
in  Illyricum,  but  Acts  xx.  1  ff.  would  allow  of  his 
touching  the  confines  of  that  region,  whether  he 
actually  preached  there  or  not.  I  have  fully 
preached.  R.V.  margin,  '^fulfilled"  (cf.  Col.  i.  25). 
The  Apostle  has  given  full  expression  to  the  mean- 
ing and  message  of  the  gospel  and  its  claim  to 
universal  dissemination. 


352    Westminster  New  Testament 

20.  Yea,  so  have  I  strived  to  preach.   R.V., 

'^  yea,  making  it  my  aim  so  to  preach  {margin,  being 
ambitious)."  For  the  word  "strive"  or  "being 
ambitious,"  cf.  1  Thess.  iv.  11  ("study");  2  Cor. 
V.  9  ("labour").  The  Apostle  insists  that  he  has 
counted  it  a  matter  of  personal  honour  not  to  go 
-whither  others  had  already  preceded  him,  "  where 
Christ  was  already  named"  (R.V.).  He  has  made 
it  a  rule  not  to  build  upon  the  foundations  laid  by 
another  apostle  (1  Cor.  iii.  10;  2  Cor.  x.  15,  l6). 

21.  For  this  admirable  rule  of  missionary  policy, 
which  enabled  the  apostles  to  spread  the  gospel 
so  rapidly  through  the  Roman  Empire,  he  gives  as 
an  authority  or  inspiring  motto  a  quotation  from 
Isa.  Hi.  11  (Gr.  trans.).  To  whom  he  was  not 
spoken  of,  they  shall  see.   R.V.,  "They  shall 

see,  to  whom  no  tidings  of  him  came." 


Rom.  XV.  22-29. 
2.  PLANS  FOR  VISITING  ROME. 

22  For  which  cause  also  I  have  been  much  hindered  from 

23  coming  to  you.  But  now  having  no  more  place  in  these 
parts,  and  having  a  great  desire  these  many  years  to  come 

24  unto  you  ;  whensoever  I  take  my  journey  into  Spain,  I 
will  come  to  you  :  for  I  trust  to  see  you  in  my  journey, 
and  to  be  brought  on  my  way  thitherward  by  you,  if  first  I 

25  be  somewhat  filled  with  your  company.     But   now  I  go 

26  unto  Jerusalem  to  minister  unto  the  saints.  For  it  hath 
pleased  them  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia  to  make  a  certain 
contribution  for  the  poor  saints  which  are  at  Jerusalem. 

27  It  hath  pleased  them  verily  ;  and  their  debtors  they  are. 
For  if  the  Gentiles  have  been  made  partakers  of  their 
spiritual  things,  their  duty  is  also  to  minister  unto  them  in 

28  carnal  things.     When  therefore  I  have  performed  this,  and 


Romans  xv.  22-29  353 

have  sealed  to  them  this  fruit,  I  will  come  by  you  into 
29  Spain.     And  I  am  sure  that,   when  I  come  unto  you,  I 
shall  come  in  the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ. 

The  Apostle  proceeds  to  sketch  the  plans  which 
he  has  formed  for  his  future  journeys.  He  repeats 
what  he  had  already  told  them  (i.  llfF.)  of  his 
longing  to  visit  Rome,  but  he  has  a  fixed  purpose 
to  carry  the  gospel  into  Spain,  and  his  plan  is  not 
to  make  Rome  a  place  of  prolonged  labour,  but 
to  visit  the  church  there  for  his  and  their  spiritual 
refreshment.  In  the  meantime  he  has  a  pressing 
duty,  namely,  to  carry  to  Jerusalem  the  contri- 
butions which  he  has  received  from  the  churches 
in  Macedonia  and  Achaia  for  relief  of  the  extensive 
poverty  which  obtains  among  the  Christians  in  the 
sacred  city.  When  he  has  fulfilled  this  duty  he 
will  proceed  to  visit  Rome  on  his  way  to  Spain. 

22.  For  which  cause  also  I  have  been  much 
hindered.  R.V.,  "  Wherefore  also  I  was  hindered 
these  many  times."  He  tells  us  in  i.  13  that  he 
has  been  prevented,  much  against  his  will,  from 
going  to  Rome.  The  A.V.  margin  suggests  as 
alternatives  for  '^^  much  "  the  words  "  many  ways  " 
or  "often  times."  But  nowhere  does  he  tell  us 
what  these  obstacles  have  been.  Perhaps  his  long 
labour  in  connection  with  the  collection  about  to  be 
referred  to  was  one  of  them,  hindered.  The 
word  occurs  in  a  similar  connection  (1  Thess.  ii.  18) 
where  he  says  Satan  hindered  a  projected  visit 
(cf.  Gal.  V.  7  ;  1  Pet.  iii.  7). 

23.  having  no  more  place  in  these  parts. 
R.V.,  "having  no  more  anyplace  in  these  regions." 
The  word  "place"  is  used  in  xii.  19^  Eph.  iv.  27- 

23 


354   Westminster  New  Testament 

in  the  sense  of  opportunity  or  scope  for  action. 
He  feels  that  his  particular  kind  of  work  as  a 
pioneer  missionary  in  the  regions  of  his  great 
missionary  journeys  has  been  finished.  The 
foundations  of  strong  churches  have  been  securely 
laid  (cf.  ver.  20),  and  he  purposes  to  go  into  regions 
as  yet  unreached  by  the  great  message,  in  these 
parts.  R.V.,  "regions."  a  great  desire.  R.V., 
"  a  longing."  It  must  have  been  a  continual  dis- 
appointment to  him  that  he  was  unable  to  reach 
the  great  centre  of  imperial  influence. 

24.  Whensoever  I  take  my  journey  into 
Spain.  R.V.,  "I  go  into."  We  have  no  record  of 
his  having  reached  Spain.  I  will  COme  tO  yOU. 
These  words  are  omitted  by  R.V.  They  must  have 
been  inserted  by  a  copyist  who  wished  to  fill  out 
the  uncompleted  sentence  of  ver.  23.  R.V.  rightly 
puts  the  remainder  of  the  sentence  in  parenthesis. 
Paul  breaks  off  from  the  original  statement^  first 
saying  that  he  wishes  to  see  them  on  his  way  to 
Spain^i  and  then  to  explain  that  he  cannot  even 
yet  start  out  for  Spain  because  of  his  duty  at 
Jerusalem.  This  he  describes  through  vers.  25-27, 
and  in  ver.  28  returns  to  complete  the  statement 
begun  in  ver.  23.  for  I  trust.  R.V.,  "I  hope." 
He  emphasizes  the  fact  that  this  visit  is  to  be  an 
incident  in  his  journey,  an  occasion  for  a  temporary 
service  and  for  Christian  fellowship  (cf.  i.  11,  12). 
to  be  brought  on  my  way.  Lit.,  "  to  be  sent 
forth."  In  a  letter  written  to  the  very  church  from 
which  he  is  writing  this  letter  he  uses  the  same 
expression  (1  Cor.  xvi.  5,  11).  Illustrations  of  this 
sending  forth  are  to  be  found  in  Acts  xv.  3,  xxi.  5, 
XX.  38.  if  first  I  be  somewhat  filled.  R.V.,  "if 
first  in  some  measure  I  shall  have  been  satisfied,** 


Romans  xv.  22-29  355 

He  hopes,  of  course,  to  be  filled  with  joy  in  his 
fellowship  with  them,  but  he  can  only  stay  long 
enough  to  be  partially  satisfied.  There  is  no  doubt 
expressed  by  the  word  "if,"  rather  does  he  take 
for  granted  that  this  desire  of  his  heart  will  most 
certainly  be  realized. 

25.  But  now  I  go.  R.V.,  "  but  novf,I  say,  I  go." 
He  breaks  off  here  to  explain  why  he  is  not  setting 
out  for  Spain  at  once.  He  is  about  to  start  for 
Jerusalem  to  minister  (R.V.  "ministering  ")  (2  Cor. 
viii.  4;  Acts  xxiv.  17).  He  is  on  a  mission  of 
service  to  those  whom  he  simply  classes  as  "  the 
saints,"  meaning,  of  course,  the  Christian  believers. 

26.  For  it  hath  pleased  them  of  Macedonia, 
etc.  R.V.,  "  For  it  hath  been  the  good  pleasure  of 
Macedonia,"  etc.  Though  the  Apostle  suggested 
and  urged  the  collection  (2  Cor.  ix.  1-15)  he  insists 
always  that  their  ready  and  generous  response 
proved  it  to  have  been  their  goodwill  to  do  this 
thing.  On  the  word  for  "  good  pleasure,"  cf.  Rom. 
X.  1 ;  1  Cor.  i.  21 ;  Gal.  i.  15.  a  certain  contri- 
bution. The  word  translated  "  contribution "  is 
elsewhere  translated  "  fellowship  "  or  "communion." 
It  is  frequently  used  in  Scripture  of  communion 
in  spiritual  things  (cf.  Phil.  iii.  10  ;  Philem.  6  ; 
1  Cor.  i.  9  ;  X.  l6).  But  it  is  naturally  extended  to 
participation  in  worldly  goods,  and  hence  is  used 
almost  technically  for  a  collection  (2  Cor.  vii.  13  ; 
Heb.  xiii.  i6).  for  the  poor  saints.  R.V.,  "for 
the  poor  among  the  saints."  There  must  have 
been  some  in  the  Jerusalem  church  who  were  not 
poor,  but  the  vast  majority  for  some  reason  or 
another  seem  to  have  lived  in  great  distress.  This 
appeared  early  (cf  Acts  vi.  1-4).  It  may  have 
arisen  from  persecution  or  the  withdrawal  of  the 


356   Westminster  New  Testament 

subsidies  which  many  of  the  Jewish  citizens  had 
been  accustomed  to  receive  from  the  wealthy 
classes.  These  subsidies  would  be  withheld  from 
those  who  became  Christian  believers.  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia.  The  Apostle  speaks  in  this 
way  because  the  churches  in  those  regions  were  so 
strong  and  so  well  established.  It  is  almost  like 
the  dawn  of  the  use  of  our  word  "  Christendom." 

27.  It  has  pleased  them  verily.  R.V.,  "Yea, 
it  has  been  their  good  pleasure."  The  Apostle 
emphasizes  the  fact  of  the  goodwill  of  these 
Gentile  Christians  towards  the  Jewish  Christians. 
It  is  one  of  the  great  triumphs  and  joys  of  his 
whole  ministry  that  he  has  brought  this  about,  and 
he  probably  expected  a  greater  return  in  spiritual 
unity  than  the  future  brought  to  him.  debtors 
(cf.  Gal.  V.  S;  Rom.  i.  4,  viii.  12).  The  Apostle 
uses  this  word  where  he  sees  a  heavy  moral 
obligation.  The  Gentile  churches  can  never 
disown  their  indebtedness  to  the  church  at 
Jerusalem  from  which  the  gospel  sprang  and  spread 
over  the  world,  their  duty  is  also.  R.V.,  "  they 
owe  it  to  them  also."  Elsewhere  the  Apostle 
contrasts  spiritual  and  carnal  things  (1  Cor.  ix.  11). 
"  Carnal  things  "  is  used  as  we  speak  of  secular 
things  or  temporalities ;  no  ethical  quality  is 
assigned  to  them.  The  Gentiles  have  received 
great  treasures  for  the  life  of  the  Spirit,  and  they 
may  well  consider  themselves  under  obligation, 
where  there  is  so  great  need  as  at  Jerusalem,  to 
repay  that  debt  with  secular  gifts.  tO  minister. 
The  same  word  is  used  in  xiii.  6,  xv.  l6,  and 
implies  that  the  Gentiles  should  consider  this  an 
opportunity  for  a  sacred  service.  It  is  not  a  mere 
secular  debt.     Its   payment    can   only  come  from 


Romans  xv.  22-29  357 

goodwill   and    under    force    of  the   religious    con- 
sciousness. 

28.  Now  the  Apostle  completes  the  unfinished 
statement  of  ver.  23.  have  performed.  R.V., 
^^accomplished."  He  uses  the  same  word  in 
relation  to  this  very  collection  in  2  Cor.  viii.  6,  11. 
sealed  (cf  iv.  li;  Eph.  i.  13).  fruit  (cf. 
Phil.  iv.  17).  The  Apostle  may  mean  either  that 
he  shall  have  formally  passed  over  the  money 
which  has  been  entrusted  to  him^  and  secure  it  in 
possession  of  those  for  whom  it  was  intended,  or 
he  may  mean  that,  having  actually  given  the 
money  ('^  accomplished  this "),  he  will  have  so 
given  to  the  Jewish  Christians  at  Jerusalem  an 
undeniable  proof  of  the  true  spirit  possessed  by  his 
Gentile  converts.  This  will  be  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
which  they  will  appreciate.  Perhaps  his  memory 
is  running  back  to  the  incident  referred  to  in 
Gal.  ii.  10. 

29.  And  I  am  sure  that.  R.V.,  "  And  I  know 
that."  He  closes  this  paragraph  with  the  note 
of  Christian  certainty.  He  will  arrive  in  Rome 
conscious  that  he  is  under  the  direction  of  Christ, 
and  that  his  work  there  will  receive  His  approval 
and  be  a  means  of  blessing  both  to  himself  and  to 
the  Roman  church,  the  blessing  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  R.V.,  "  the  blessing  of  Christ."  The 
word  for  "blessing"  in  N.T.  occurs  in  a  large 
variety  of  connections  :  in  Eph.  i.  3  the  Apostle 
speaks  of  spiritual  blessing  ;  in  1  Cor.  ix.  5  it  is 
translated  ^'bounty";  in  Rom.  xvi.  18  it  is  used 
in  a  sinister  sense,  "fair  speech  "  (cf.  1  Cor.  x.  l6). 


358   Westminster  New  Testament 

Rom.  XV.  30-33. 
3.  A   PLEA  FOR   INTERCESSION. 

30  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ's 
sake,  and  for  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  that  ye  strive  together 

31  with  me  in  your  prayers  to  God  for  me  ;  that  I  may  be 
delivered  from  them  that  do  not  beh'eve  in  Judea  ;  and 
that  my  service  which  I  have  for  Jerusalem  may  be  ac- 

32  cepted  of  the  saints  ;  that  I  may  come  unto  you  with  joy 

33  by  the  will  of  God,  and  may  with  you  be  refreshed.  Now 
the  God  of  peace  be  with  you  all.     Amen. 

The  Apostle  now  makes  a  strong  appeal  to  the 
Romans  for  earnest^  striving  prayer  on  his  behalf 
(ver.  30),  and  he  names  three  blessings  for  which 
they  should  intercede.  First,  that  he  may  be  kept 
in  safety  from  the  dangerous  hatred  of  the  Jews  in 
Judea.  Second,  that  the  great  collection  which 
he  has  made  may  be  well  received  by  those  for 
whom  it  was  intended  (ver.  31).  Third,  that  he 
may  reach  Rome  in  joy  and  there  have  rest  in 
their  fellowship  (ver.  32),  and  he  prays  the  God  of 
peace  to  be  with  them  (ver.  33). 

30.  Now  I  beseech.  Rather  should  we  read 
"  but  I  beseech  you,"  for  in  spite  of  his  confidence 
(ver.  29)  he  knows  the  dangers  ahead  of  him,  and 
the  mysteriousness  of  the  Divine  will.  For  a 
similar  condition  of  faith  and  apprehension,  cf.  Phil, 
i.  22-26.  The  Apostle  was  very  human,  and  his 
mighty  faith  did  not  lift  him  above  the  possibilities 
of  disappointment  and  the  natural  tremors  of  the 
foreseeing  mind.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  his  con- 
fidence was  so  far  justified  that  he  did  reach  Rome, 
but    as    a    prisoner    after  a   long  delay,     for   the 

Lord  Jesus  Christ's  sake.  R.V.,  "by  our  Lord 


Romans  xv.  30-33  359 

Jesus  Christ."  As  he  beseeches  them  (xii.  1)  by 
the  mercies  of  God^  so  here  by  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  for  it  is  on  Christ  that  both  the  Roman 
Christians  and  he  depend,  and  from  him  the 
motive  of  prayer  as  well  as  its  content  is  derived. 
and  for  the  love  of  the  Spirit.  R.V.,  "  and  by 
the  love  of  the  Spirit."  We  hear  that  love  is  one 
fruit  of  the  Spirit  (Gal.  v.  22).  The  Apostle 
speaks  of  love  in  the  Spirit  (Col.  i.  8) ;  also,  he 
speaks  of  the  spirit  of  love  (2  Tim.  i.  7).  The  best 
commentary  on  all  these  passages  is  Eph.  iii.  l6- 
18.  that  ye  strive  together  with  me.  The 
word  used  here  cames  with  it  the  idea  of  wrestling. 
For  him  prayer  is  hard  work  (cf.  Col.  ii.  1,  2, 
Iv.  12).  Even  across  a  wide  ocean  he  realizes  that 
these  men  could  labour  with  him  in  this  matter, 
and  that  their  labour  together  may  not  be  in  vain. 
to  God  for  me.  The  emphasis  would  be  better 
brought  out  by  saying,  "on  my  behalf  towards 
God."  It  is  not  without  emphasis  that  he  here 
uses  the  three  names,  of  Christ  and  Spirit  and 
God,  in  this  solemn  appeal  for  the  intercession  of 
the  Roman  church  on  his  behalf.  All  his  future 
movements  are  under  the  direction  of  God  (cf. 
ver.  32). 

31.  them  that  do  not  believe.  R.V.,  "them 
that  are  disobedient"  (cf.  xi.  30;  Heb.  iii.  18). 
A  strong  passage  on  the  hostility  of  the  Judean 
Jews  occurs  in  1  Thess.  ii.  14-16.  The  Apostle  is 
aware  of  the  extreme  dangers  into  which  he  is 
going.  They  are  vividly  realized  by  reading  Acts 
XX.  3,  17-38  ;  xxi.  4,  10-14,  and  then  from  xxi.  17 

onwards,  and  that  my  service.  R.V.,  "my 
ministration."  Some  manuscripts  have  "my  bear- 
ing of  a  gift  to  Jerusalem,"  and  that  may  have 


36o   Westminster  New  Testament 

been  the  original  reading.  He  fears  lest  even  the 
Jewish  Christians,  out  of  hostility  to  the  freedom 
of  the  Gentiles  on  which  he  has  insisted,  may 
maintain  an  extremely  bitter  attitude  towards  him 
and  may  fail  to  accept  the  gifts  of  their  Gentile 
fellow-Christians  in  the  spirit  in  which  they  were 
made.  He  wishes  the  Romans  to  pray  that  these 
saints  may  accept  the  gifts  in  the  right  spirit. 

32.  with  joy  by  the  will  of  God.  R.V.,  '^n 
joy  through  the  will  of  God."  and  may  with 
you  be  refreshed.  R.V.,  "and  together  with 
you  find  rest."  All  depends  on  the  directing  will 
of  God  (cf.  i.  10).  On  this  refreshment  to  which 
he  refers,  cf  2  Cor.  vii.  13 ;  Philem.  7,  20. 

33.  Having  asked  their  prayers,  the  Apostle 
prays  for  them,  and  out  of  the  turmoil  of  his  heart 
and  the  darkness  of  his  future  his  thought  turns 
naturally  to  God,  who  is  above  all  the  turmoil,  the 
God  of  peace.  He  prays  that  this  God  may  be 
with  them  all.  Here  we  must  understand  the 
word  "peace"  in  all  the  variety  and  fulness  of  its 
meaning.  Cf  its  uses  in  i.  7,  v.  1,  viii.  6,  xiv.  17, 
19,  XV.  13,  33,  xvi.  20. 


Rom.  xvi.  I,  2. 
4.  A   PERSONAL   INTRODUCTION. 

1  I  commend  unto  you  Phebe  our  sister,  which  is  a  servant 

2  of  the  church  which  is  at  Cenchrea  :  that  ye  receive  her  in 
the  Lord,  as  becometh  saints,  and  that  ye  assist  her  in 
whatsoever  business  she  hath  need  of  you  :  for  she  hath 
been  a  succourer  of  many,  and  of  myself  also. 

1.    church.     This  is  the  first  time  this  word  oc- 
curs in  this  Epistle.    The  Greek  word  for  "  church  " 


Romans  xvi.  i,  2  361 

was  applied  by  the  Christians  to  the  assemblies 
which  they  formed  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
synagogues  as  well  as  from  all  other  forms  of 
organization  of  a  voluntary  sort.  Paul  uses  the 
word,  first  and  most  generally,  of  individual  local 
churches,  in  the  singular  or  the  plural.  Second, 
he  is  said  by  some  to  use  it  of  all  the  churches 
regarded  as  a  unity.  But  this  is  not  quite  so 
certain,  for  in  1  Cor.  x.  32,  xii.  28,  and  1  Tim.  iii.  1 5 
the  word  may  apply  to  the  local  congregations, 
while  in  Gal.  i.  13,  Phil.  iii.  6  he  refers  to  a  period 
when  the  only  church  in  existence  was  that  at 
Jerusalem,  which  he  persecuted  (cf.,  however, 
Acts  XX.  28).  In  the  third  place,  the  Apostle  uses  it 
in  a  mystical  sense  for  all  believers  regarded  as  the 
body  of  Christ,  especially  in  Epistles  to  Ephesians 
and  Colossians.  Cenchrea.  R.V.,'^^Cenchreae"  (cf. 
Acts  xviii,  1 8).  This  was  a  port  on  the  Saronic  Gulf 
less  than  ten  miles  from  Corinth,  from  which  this 
letter  was  written.  As  it  was  a  busy  seaport  it 
was  probably  a  meeting-place  for  many  Christian 
travellers  between  Asia  and  Italy. 

2.  in  the  Lord,  as  becometh  saints.  R.V., 
"in  the  Lord,  worthily  of  the  saints."  He  urges 
that  Phoebe  should  not  be  treated  as  a  stranger  or 
outsider,  but  taken  right  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
church.  This  alone  is  what  Christ  the  Lord  expects 
of  those  who  hold  the  common  faith,  business. 
R.V.,  "matter."  She  seems  to  have  been  engaged 
in  some  important  secular  affairs  on  this  journey  to 
Rome.  She  evidently  was  a  woman  of  wealth. 
Perhaps,  like  Lydia,  she  had  a  business  in  connection 
with  which  she  was  on  her  journey  to  Rome,  for 
she  hath  been  a  succourer  of  many.  R.V., 
"for  she  herself  also."     The  word  for  '^succourer" 


362    Westminster  New  Testament 

is  that  used  of  a  civic  official  of  Athens  who  cared 
for  the  strangers  and  those  without  civic  rights. 
Paul  uses  the  word  to  show  that  Phcebe  had  proved 
herself  particularly  careful  of  those  Christians  who 
were  strangers  at  Cenchrea.  Paul  himself  had 
been  of  that  number.  He  may  have  taken  refuge 
in  her  house  either  in  sickness  or  in  some  time  of 
persecution,  or  simply  when  making  brief  visits  to 
Cenchrea  from  the  neighbouring  city  of  Corinth, 
where  he  worked  so  long. 


Rom.  xvi.  3-16. 
5.  PERSONAL  SALUTATIONS. 

3  Greet  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  my  helpers  in  Christ  Jesus : 

4  who  have  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own  necks  :  unto  whom 
not  only  I  give  thanks,  but  also  all  the  churches  of  the 

5  Gentiles.     Likewise  greet  the  church  that  is  in  their  house. 
Salute   my  wellbeloved  Epenetus,    who   is   the  first-fruits 

6  of  Achaia  unto  Christ.     Greet  Mary,  who  bestowed  much 

7  labour  on  us.      Salute   Andronicus  and  Junia,   my  kins- 
men,  and   my   fellowprisoners,    who   are   of  note   among 

8  the  apostles,  who  also  were  in  Christ  before  me.     Greet 

9  Amplias,    my    beloved    in    the    Lord.     Salute    Urbane, 

10  our  helper  in  Christ,    and   Stachys   my  beloved.     Salute 
Apelles   approved  in  Christ.     Salute   them   which   are  of 

11  Aristobulus'   houshold.       Salute    Herodion   my   kinsman. 
Greet  them  that  be  of  the  houshold  of  Narcissus,  which 

12  are  in   the    Lord.     Salute  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,  who 
labour   in   the   Lord.     Salute   the  beloved  Persis,    which 

13  laboured  much  in  the  Lord.     Salute  Rufus  chosen  in  the 

14  Lord,    and    his   mother    and   mine.     Salute    Asyncritus, 
Phlegon,  Hermas,    Patrobas,    Hermes,  and   the  brethren 

15  which    are  with    them.     Salute    Philologus,    and    Julia, 
Nereus,  and   his  sister,  and  Olympas,  and  all  the  saints 


Romans  xvi.  3--16  363 

16  which   are  with  them.     Salute  one  another  with   a   holy 
kiss.     The  churches  of  Christ  salute  you. 

In  the  long  list  of  personal  salutations  here  given 
no  name  occurs,  except  those  of  Prisca  and  Aquila, 
of  which  we  hear  in  any  other  part  of  the  N.T. 
Two  features  stand  out  when  we  have  surveyed 
the  whole  list :  first,  that  some  of  them  seem  to 
have  been  Jews,  whom  he  identifies  as  such  by 
calling  them  "my  kinsmen"  (vers.  7,  11,  21); 
second,  that  a  number  of  these  persons  may  have 
been  connected  with  the  Imperial  household,  as 
many  of  these  names  occur  in  lists  and  inscriptions 
dating  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  second  century 
and  even  earlier,  as  names  of  slaves  and  freedmen 
attached  in  some  way  to  "  Caesar's  "  household  (Phil, 
iv.  22).  Those  who  believe  that  this  portion  of  the 
epistle  must  have  become  attached  to  it  from  another 
letter  addressed  to  a  church,  say  Ephesus,  where 
Paul  had  laboured,  have  for  their  strongest  argu- 
ment the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  the  fact  that 
he  knows,  and  apparently  knows  well,  so  many 
people  in  a  city  which  he  had  not  visited.  This 
may  be  met  by  two  considerations :  first,  that  the 
Apostle  may  have  met  some  of  these  persons  as 
they  travelled  from  one  portion  of  the  Empire  to 
another.  All  Christians  from  Rome  who  travelled 
eastwards  would  be  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  meet 
the  great  Apostle.  In  the  second  place,  Paul 
may  have  come  to  know  of  the  personalities  of 
these  people  through  their  friends,  and  he  sends 
greetings  to  them  as  one  for  whom  they  are  not 
mere  names  but  fellow-Christians  whose  qualities 
have  been  reported  to  him. 

s.  Greet  Priscilla and  Aquila.   R.V.,  "Salute 


364   Westminster  New  Testament 

Prisca  and  Aquila."  This  famous  early  Christian 
couple  are  first  met  in  Acts  xviii.  1-14.  Their 
power  and  influence  appear  in  Acts  xviii.  18,  19^ 
24  fF.  They  are  also  referred  to  in  1  Cor.  xvi.  19  ; 
2  Tim.  iv.  19.  Much  speculation  has  been  indulged 
in,  in  reference  to  this  interesting  husband  and 
wife.  They  seem  to  have  been  earnest  and  intelli- 
gent. Their  circumstances  compelled  them,  ap- 
parently, to  travel  much.  Aquila,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  a  Jew,  was  like  Paul  trained  to  the 
trade  of  a  tent-maker  and  practised  his  calling. 
If,  as  some  suppose,  Prisca  belonged  to  a  noble 
family  at  Rome,  they  may  have  been  impoverished 
by  the  banishment  described  in  Acts  xviii.  2.  my 
helpers  in  Christ  Jesus.  R.V.,  "my  fellow- 
workers."  The  Apostle  probably  emphasizes  this 
phrase  in  his  own  mind,  remembering  that  they 
had  laboured  as  tent-makers  side  by  side,  but 
that  their  chief  labour  was  in  the  gospel  of 
Christ. 

4.  who  have  for  my  life  laid  down  their 
own  necks.  It  is  uncertain  what  this  statement 
means  exactly,  though  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  Romans  understood  it  perfectly,  for  Paul  says 
that  all  the  churches  of  the  Gentiles  were  filled 
with  gratitude  to  them  for  their  act.  The  word 
"  laid  down "  had  a  technical  use  for  "  giving  in 
pledge,"  and  it  may  be  that  they  had  risked  their 
own  lives  at  some  crisis  by  becoming  security  for 
the  Apostle  (cf.  Acts  xviii.  12  if.,  xix.  30  ff.).  untO 
whom,  etc.  The  Apostle  cherishes  a  permanent 
and  deep  gratitude  which  he  knows  is  shared  by 
all  the  Gentiles  towards  these  two  devoted  people. 
Gentiles.  It  may  be  that  the  emphasis  upon  the 
word  ''  Gentiles  "  refers  to  some  occasion  on  which 


Romans  xvi.  3-16  365 

he  was  in  danger  through  the  action  of  the  Jews 
or  even  of  the  Jewish  Christians. 

5.  Likewise  greet  the  church  that  is  in 
their  house.  R.V.,  "  and  sahite/'  etc.  We  have 
no  proof  that  any  separate  building  was  put  up  for 
Christian  worship  in  Rome  for  several  generations. 
The  gatherings  of  believers  took  place  in  private 
houses.  If^  as  seems  certain^  some  persons  belong- 
ing to  the  nobility  or  even  to  the  Imperial  house- 
hold were  baptized  in  the  early  days,  their  palaces 
would  be  most  serviceable  for  this  purpose, 
Epenetus.  R.V.,  "  Epaenetus."  This  man  was 
the  first  convert  in  the  Roman  Province  of  Asia. 
The  Apostle,  as  we  see  from  1  Cor.  xvi.  15,  loved 
to  think  of  those  who  were  what  he  called  the 
firstfruits  of  the  gospel  in  a  new  region. 

6.  Greet  Mary.  R.V.,  "Salute  Mary."  It  is 
not  certain  whether  we  should  here  read  the  Jewish 
name  "  Mariam  "  or  the  Roman  "  Marian/'  though 
most  editors  favour  the  latter.  This  woman  dis- 
tinguished herself  for  her  activity  in  the  Christian 
service,  for  the  word  "labour"  is  most  frequently 
used  by  the  Apostle  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
(cf.  Gal.  iv.  11  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  10,  xvi.  l6 ;  Col.  i.  29; 
1  Tim.  iv.  10,  v.^7).     on  US.    R.V.,  "on  you." 

7.  Andronicus  and  Junia.  R.V.,  "Junias 
(margin,  Junia)."  These  persons  may  have  been 
either  husband  and  wife  or  two  men,  according  as 
we  read  the  second  name,  kinsmen.  So  called 
because  they  were  Jews,  and  probably  not  as 
being  relatives  of  the  Apostle,  fellowprisoners. 
The  word  used  for  "prisoner''  refers  to  prisoners 
of  war.  "  Paul  and  his  friends  were  all  Salvation 
Army  men "  (Denney).  But  is  it  necessary  to 
assume  that  they  had  been  in  the  same  prison  with 


366   Westminster  New  Testament 

Paul  ?  Would  it  not  be  very  striking  if  he  had 
called  those  his  "  fellowprisoners  "  who  had  been 
immured  for  Christ's  sake  in  another  land  ?  who 
are  of  note  among  the  apostles.  It  is  uncer- 
tain whether  Paul  means  that  they  were  of  note 
as  apostles  or  highly  esteemed  by  the  apostles. 
Either  meaning  is  good,  although  the  former  was 
most  generally  adopted  by  interpreters  in  the 
early  Church.  The  word  "  apostle  "  was  used  in 
various  references  (cf.  Acts  xiv.  14).  who  also 
were  in  Christ  before  me.  A  much  better 
translation  than  the  R.V.,  "  have  been  in  Christ 
before  me."  These  two  must  have  been  Christians 
in  the  earliest  days  of  the  gospel,  and  in  that  case 
most  probably  at  Jerusalem,  from  which  we  may  get 
a  hint  as  to  the  sources  from  which  the  church  at 
Rome  arose.  Perhaps  their  fame  either  as  apostles 
or  with  the  apostles  may  be  traced  to  their  having 
had  some  important  part  in  the  founding  of  that 
church. 

8.  Greet  Amplias.  R.V.,  "  Salute  Ampliatus." 
This  was  a  common  slave  name.  It  is  found  in 
one  of  the  Christian  catacombs  at  Rome  known  as 
the  Cemetery  of  Domitilla,  a  noble  Roman  lady  who 
perished  in  a  persecution  toward  the  end  of  the 
first  century.  The  name  also  occurs  in  a  list  of 
freedmen  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  century, 
my  beloved.  We  must  remember  that  it  was  a 
slave,  or  one  recently  a  slave,  whom  Paul  ad- 
dresses in  this  warm  language.  The  secret  of  his 
love  is  in  the  conclusion  of  the  phrase  in  the 
Lord. 

9-  Urbane.  R.V.,  "  Urbanus."  x\nother  com- 
mon Roman  slave  name,  our  helper  in  Christ. 
R. v.,  ^^  our  fellow-worker."     Evidently  he  had  not 


Romans  xvi.  3-16  367 

been  a  personal  companion  of  Paul^  hence  the 
plural  pronoun.  Stachys  my  beloved.  This 
man,  on  the  other  hand,  must  have  had  personal 
relations  with  the  Apostle.  His  name  is  Greek, 
but  it  is  found  in  an  inscription  as  the  name  of  a 
member  of  the  Imperial  household. 

10.  Apelles.  This  name  was  used  in  Roman 
households.  The  Roman  poet  Horace  says  "The 
Jew  Apella  may  believe  it,  I  do  not,"  as  if  that 
name  was  counted  a  typical  Jewish  name  at  Rome, 
approved.  R.V.,  "the  approved."  This  word 
is  used  to  describe  the  result  of  a  process  of  testing, 
and  means  that  Apelles  had  passed  through  some 
severe  trial  and  had  become  publicly  known  as  a 
man  in  Christ  (cf.  Jas.  i.  12;  Rom.  xiv.  1 8 ; 
1  Cor.  xi.  19;  2  Cor.  x.  18;  2  Tim.  ii.  15).  of 
Aristobulus'  houshold.  R.V.,  "of  the  house- 
hold of  Aristobulus."  Herod  the  Great  (Matt, 
ii.  1  ff.),  father  of  the  Herods  mentioned  in  the 
gospel  (Mark  vi.  14  ff.),  had  a  grandson,  Aristobulus, 
who  seems  to  have  lived  in  Rome,  and  his  house- 
hold is  probably  referred  to  here  as  containing 
some  believing  Christians.  Even  if  he  had  died 
before  this,  his  household  may  have  preserved  its 
identity  and  retained  his  name. 

11.  Herodion  my  kinsman.  A  Jewish  name 
drawn  from  that  of  Herod ;  perhaps  connected 
with  the  household  of  Aristobulus.  The  Apostle 
means  by  the  words  "my  kinsman  "  that  he  was  of 

the  Jewish  race.    Greet  them  that  be.   R.V., 

"Salute  them."  Narcissus  was  the  name  of  a  man 
who  was  put  to  death,  probably  two  or  three  years 
before  this  letter  was  written,  under  Nero.  He 
was  a  well-known  freedman,  and  his  household 
would  probably  become  a  part  of  Caesar's  house- 


368   Westminster  New  Testament 

hold  (Phil.  iv.  22)  and  yet  retain  its  identity, 
which  are  in  the  Lord.  A  clause  difficult  of  in- 
terpretation. It  might  convey  to  readers  familiar 
with  the  fact  a  feeling  of  joy  or  surprise  that  in 
such  a  household  any  should  belong  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  It  may  also  mean  that^  while  some 
of  the  household  were  Christians,  others  were 
definitely  hostile  to  the  new  religion. 

12.  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa.  R.V.,  "Try- 
phaena  and  Tryphosa."  These  were  apparently 
sisters,  and  their  names  are  derived  from  one  root 
word  which  is  translated  as  "  delicately "  in  Jas. 
V.  5,  Luke  vii.  25,  and  as  "revel"  in  2  Pet.  ii.  13. 
who  labour  in  the  Lord.  In  spite  of  commenta- 
tors, it  is  not  likely  that  Paul  thought  of  any  con- 
trast between  the  root  meaning  of  these  women's 
names  and  their  reputation  for  labouring  in  the 
Lord,  as  if  their  names  belied  their  characters. 
Persis.  Is  called  "the  beloved,"  as  being  evi- 
dently one  who  had  drawn  out  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  the  community,  which  laboured. 
This  past  tense,  in  contrast  with  what  is  said  in 
the  previous  sentence  of  the  two  sisters,  would 
indicate  that  Persis  for  some  reason  was  laid  aside 
from  active  Christian  service.  It  may  have  been 
age,  or  sickness,  or  some  other  disability,  but  she 
is  still  called  "the  beloved." 

13.  Rufus  chosen  in  the  Lord.  R.V.,  "the 
chosen."  The  description  means  that  he  was  of 
the  elite  among  Christians,  a  man  of  fine  type  in 
faith  and  character.  Some  think  that  Mark  wrote 
the  Second  Gospel  while  he  was  at  Rome,  and  that 
this  Rufus  may  be  the  same  as  is  referred  to  in 
Mark  xv.  2 1  — both  uncertain  conj  ectures.  mother. 
How  or  when  the  mother  of  Rufus  had  cared  for 


Romans  xvi.  3-16  369 

Paulj  as  this  verse  indicates,  we  do  not  know.      For 
the  idea,  cf.  John  xix.  26,  27. 

14.  A  group  of  names  is  here  given  of  men  who 
were  in  some  way  associated,  and  others  unnamed 
belong  to  the  group.  They  may  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  meeting  for  worship  in  one  house. 
Patrobas  is  a  contraction  for  Patrobius.  He  may 
have  belonged  to  the  household  of  a  famous  freedman 
of  that  name.  The  names  Hermas  and  Hermes 
are  interchanged  in  their  position  by  R.V.  Hermas 
is  not  to  be  identified,  as  was  at  one  time  frequently 
imagined,  with  the  author  of  the  well-known  Chris- 
tian work  known  as  The  Shejjherd. 

15.  Salutations  are  sent  to  still  another  group, 
which  from  the  concluding  clause  would  seem  to 
have  been  larger  than  the  preceding  one.  The 
name  Julia  is  a  very  common  Roman  name,  and  is 
said  to  be  one  "of  the  commonest  family  names 
among  slaves  of  the  Imperial  household." 

16.  a  holy  kiss  (cf.  l  Thess.  v.  26 ;  1  Cor. 
xvi.  20;  2  Cor.  xiii.  12;  1  Pet.  v.  14).  This  re- 
ligious salutation  was  apparently  taken  over  from 
a  Jewish  custom.  It  became  part  of  the  regular 
form  of  public  worship  among  early  Christians. 
Origen  traces  it  to  this  and  other  passages,  but 
emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  Apostle  calls  it 
^^holy."  The  churches  of  Christ.  R.V.,  ^^All 
the  churches  of  Christ."  Nowhere  else  does  Paul 
speak  of  the  church  or  churches  as  being  "of 
Christ"  (cf.  note  above,  xvi.  1,  and  note  on  Acts 
XX.  28). 


24 


370   Westminster  New  Testament 

Rom.  xvi.  17-20. 
6.   A  WARNING  AGAINST   DIVISIONS. 

17  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  mark  them  which  cause 
divisions  and  offences  contrary  to  the  doctrine  which  ye 

18  have  learned  ;  and  avoid  them.  For  they  that  are  such 
serve  not  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  their  own  belly  ;  and 
by  good  words  and  fair  speeches  deceive  the  hearts  of  the 

19  simple.  For  your  obedience  is  come  abroad  unto  all  men. 
I  am  glad  therefore  on  your  behalf :  but  yet  I  would  have 
you  wise  unto  that  which  is  good,  and  simple  concerning 

20  evil.  And  the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your 
feet  shortly.  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with 
you.     Amen. 

This  is  felt  by  all  readers  to  be  an  unexpected 
paragraph.  And  no  explanation  is  conclusive. 
Some  think  it  implies  too  close  a  knowledge  of 
actual  conditions  to  be  found  in  the  letter  addressed 
by  the  Apostle  to  a  church  he  had  not  visited  ; 
and  this  is  used  as  one  of  their  strong  arguments 
by  those  who  believe  that  this  portion  of  the  epistle 
was  originally  a  separate  letter  sent  to  introduce 
Phoebe  to  the  church  at  Ephesus,  the  Apostle 
adding  personal  greetings  and  this  brief  exhortation 
to  his  letter  of  introduction.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  paragraph  has  a  curious 
indefiniteness.  It  does  not  definitely  say  that  such 
persons  were  known  by  the  Apostle  to  be  working 
among  those  whom  he  addresses.  Rather  does  he 
seem  to  be  roused  by  recalling  the  fact  that  such 
men  are  at  work  in  various  places,  and,  in  fear  lest 
they  should  intrude  upon  the  peace  of  the  Roman 
Church,  he  utters  this  faithful  and  vigorous  warning. 
The  persons  of  whom  he  speaks  are  described  in 


Romans  xvi.  17-20  371 

general  terms  as  causes  of  divisions,  and  they  offer 
by  their  spirit  and  influence  a  hindrance  to  the 
gospel.  They  are  self-interested  in  their  propa- 
ganda, and  do  not  manifest  the  spirit  of  those  who 
are  given  over  wholly  to  the  service  of  Christ. 
They  are  insinuating  and  pleasing  in  their  methods 
of  argument.  Probably  their  teaching  led  in  the 
direction  of  self-indulgence,  or  even  sensuality. 
The  Apostle  yearns  over  the  Roman  Christians, 
whose  obedience  he  says  is  well  known,  lest  they 
should  be  led  astray.  He  would  fain  preserve  that 
joy  which  he  has  in  them,  and  he  adds  that  their 
watchfulness  shall  only  be  for  a  brief  season,  for 
the  day  will  shortly  come  when  God  shall  put  even 
Satan  under  their  feet, 

17.  Now  I  beseech  you.  The  Apostle  breaks 
off  from  personal  matters  to  give  sudden  expression 
to  the  earnest  desire  of  his  heart,  mark.  That 
is  so  as  to  beware  of  their  true  spirit  and  character. 
cause  divisions.  R.V., "  are  causing  the  divisions  " 
(cf.  Gal.  V.  20).  The  use  of  the  definite  article 
would  seem  to  imply  that  the  Apostle  refers  to 
some  well-known  kind  of  disagreement,  awakened 
either  in  the  church  he  addresses  or  among  several 
churches  by  a  certain  type  of  teaching.  offenceS. 
R.  v.,  "occasions  of  stumbling"  (cfxiv.  13;  1  Tim. 
vi.  1  ;  1  Johnii.  10).  the  doctrine.  R.V.  margin, 
"teaching."  and  avoid  them.  R.V.,  "and  turn 
away  from  them."  The  Apostle  knows  that  his 
readers  have  been  well  instructed  in  the  practical 
aspects  of  the  gospel.  He  has  dealt  with  some 
of  these  in  this  very  letter  (cf.  chap.  6),  and  he 
warns  his  readers  not  in  any  way  to  tamper  with 
contrary  teachings,  but  rather  to  shun  such  teachers 
(cf.  1  Pet.  iv.  11).     All  the  more  urgent  would  this 


372   Westminster  New  Testament 

word  sound  if  the  teachings  of  these  persons 
involved  sensuaUty,  from  which  the  only  refuge 
is  to  be  found  in  flight. 

18.  serve  not  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.   R.V., 

^'our  Lord  Christ."     The  latter  is  the  true  reading, 

and  the  only  case  in  which  this  particular  form  of 

title  is  used  of  the  Saviour,    but  their  OWn  belly. 

In  Phil.  iii.   19  this  phrase  seems  to  be  explained 

by  the    two    following    ones.      Naturally    it  would 

suggest  gross    sensuality,  but    some    think  this  is 

not  its  essential  meaning  but  rather  that    it  is  a 

stinging  and  scornful  phrase  for  those  "  who  mind 

earthly  things  "  ;  yet  all  concentration  upon  merely 

earthly  interests    does    tend   undoubtedly  towards 

sensuality  in  the  long-run.     and  by  gOOd  WOrds 

and  fair  speeches.    R.V.,  "and  by  their  smooth 

and  fair  speech  they  beguile    the    hearts  of  the 

innocent."     The  latter   version  brings    out  better 

the  feeling  of  subtlety  and  of  plausibility,  which 

seems  to  be  involved  in  the  Greek  words  here  used. 

The  latter  word  "fair  speech"  may  imply  flattery, 

or  it  may  even  suggest  the  use  of  "pious  tones." 

deceive.      R.V.,    "  beguile "     (cf.    Rom.    vii.     1 1  ; 

1  Cor.  iii.  18  ;  2  Cor.  xi.   3  ;  2  Thess.  ii.  3  ;  1  Tim. 

ii.  14).     simple.    R. v.,  "innocent."     Probably  the 

A.V.  gives  the  better  meaning  to  the  Greek  word. 

It  is  those  who  are  without  darkness  in  their  own 

hearts    who    are    very    often    led    astray    by    the 

subtlety   of  those  who   can  suggest   good  reasons 

for  evil  things. 

19.  The  Apostle  states  one  reason  for  his  great 
interest  in  this  matter.  The  people  whom  he 
addresses  are  well  known  for  their  obedience  to 
the  gospel,  and  he  longs  to  know  that  this  reputa- 
tion is  not  going  to  be  soiled.   I  am  glad  there- 


Romans  xvi.  17-20  373 

fore  on  your  behalf.  R.V.,  "  I  rejoice  therefore 
over  you,"  On  this  spirit  of  joy^  cf,  Phil.  ii.  17, 
18.  The  Apostle  desires  that,  instead  of  being 
easily  caught  by  suggestions  coming  from  a  sinful 
source,  they  should  be  so  morally  established  that 
they  shall  be  wise  in  relation  to  the  good  as  a 
whole,  and  that  they  shall  be  simple  or  harmless  or 
inwardly  pure  in  relation  to  the  evil  in  all  its  forms. 
If  the  innocent  are  in  danger  of  being  beguiled, 
their  only  inward  safety  is  to  be  found  in  a  con- 
firmed and  sound  wisdom,  that  is  in  a  concentra- 
tion of  their  attention  and  interest  and  activity 
upon  all  that  is  good,  and  in  a  condition  in  which 
they  should  be  inwardly  separated  from,  and  there- 
fore spontaneously  hostile  to,  every  suggestion  of 
evil. 

20.  With  this  general  conception  in  mind  the 
Apostle  assures  them  that  the  great  name  from 
whom  all  evil  suggestions  ultimately  come  shall 
be  conquered  on  their  behalf.  And  the  God 
of  peace  (cf.  l  Thess.  v.  23  ;  Rom.  xv.  33 ; 
2  Cor.  xiii.  11;  Phil.  iv.  9;  Heb.  xiii.  20).  This 
beautiful  conception  of  God  is  as  startling  here 
as  the  use  of  the  word  "  peace  "  is  in  Phil.  iv.  7, 
where  peace  is  represented  as  an  armed  sentinel. 
shall  bruise  Satan  (cf  2  Cor.  xi.  13-15). 
The  allusion  here  is,  of  course,  to  Gen.  iii.  15. 
The  Apostle  assures  his  readers  that  the  warfare 
cannot  last  long.  In  his  view  the  final  victory  will 
shortly  be  achieved  and  their  deliverance  fully 
accomplished.  The  grace  .  .  .  with  you.  This 
benediction,  as  R.V.  points  out  in  the  jjiai^gin,  is 
inserted  by  some  ancient  authorities  after  ver.  23 
(see  Introduction).  Amen.  R.V.  omits,  except  in 
margin. 


374   Westminster  New  Testament 

Rom.  xvi.  21-24. 
7.  GREETINGS  FROM  PAUL'S  COMPANIONS. 

21  Timotheus  my  workfellow,  and    Lucius,  and  Jason,    and 

22  Sosipater,  my  kinsmen,  salute  you .     I  Tertius,  who  wrote 

23  this  epistle,  salute  you  in  the  Lord.  Gaius  mine  host,  and 
of  the  whole  church,  saluteth  you.  Erastus  the  chamber- 
lain  of  the   city   saluteth    you,    and   Quartus   a  brother. 

24  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all.     Amen. 

21.  The  Apostle  appends  greetings  from  his 
companions^  as  frequently  is  his  custom.  TimO- 
theus  my  fellow  -  worker.  R.V.,  "Timothy." 
We  hear  first  of  this  person  in  Acts.  xvi.  1-3.  To 
him  were  addressed  the  two  letters  bearing  his 
name.  In  2  Tim.  i.  5  there  is  a  reference  to  his 
mother  and  grandmother.  In  1  Cor.  iv.  17  the 
Apostle  speaks  of  him  with  a  great  affection,  "my 
beloved  and  faithful  child  in  the  Lord."  He 
seems  to  have  been  for  many  years  almost  a  con- 
stant companion  of  the  Apostle,  and  is  named  in 
the  salutations  of  no  less  than  six  letters,  namely, 
1  and  2  Thess.,  2  Cor.,  Phil.,  Col.,  and  Philem. 
Lucius  (Acts  xiii.  1),  Jason  (Acts  xvii.  5-7), 
Sosipater  (Acts  xx.  4),  are  all  mentioned  by  the 
Apostle  as  "  kinsmen,"  by  which,  as  we  have  seen 
above,  he  probably  meant  simply  that  they  were 
of  the  Jewish  race.  The  identification  of  these 
with  those  named  in  the  passages  cited  from  Acts 
is,  of  course,  quite  conjectural,  salute  yOU.  These 
words  are  omitted  in  R.V. 

22.  I  Tertius,  who  wrote  this  epistle.  R.V., 
"who  wrote  the  epistle."  The  R.V.  margin  gives 
as  alternative  translation,  "  who  write  the  epistle 
in  the  Lord,  salute  you,"  but  this  is  most  certainly 


Romans  xvi.  21--24  375 

not  the  true  meaning.  The  Apostle  here  allows  his 
amanuensis  to  speak  in  the  first  person,  which 
many  commentators  mark  as  an  act  of  gracious 
courtesy.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  no 
other  letter,  so  far  as  we  know,  does  the  amanuensis 
send  his  personal  greeting.  There  may  be  special 
reasons  for  allowing  this  peculiar  form  of  salutation 
in  this  place. 

23.  Gaius  mine  host.  R.V.,  "my  host." 
Probably  this  man  is  mentioned  in  1  Cor.  i.  14, 
an  indication  that  Gaius  was  a  man  of  large  means, 
in  whose  house  the  whole  church  met  for  worship, 
and  with  whom,  while  here  at  Corinth,  the  Apostle 
lived  as  a  guest.  This  salutation  may  be  taken  as 
a  slight  sign  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  or 
this    portion    of    it,    was    written    from    Corinth. 

Erastus  the  chamberlain  of  the  city.  R.V., 

"  the  treasurer  of  the  city."  Cf.  Acts  xix.  22,  where 
Erastus  is  associated  with  Timothy.  Also  2  Tim. 
iv.    20,  where  Erastus    is    mentioned  to  Timothy. 

Quartus  a  brother.  R.V.,  "the  brother."  Of 
this  man  we  have  no  other  mention  in  N.T.  He 
is  probably  mentioned  here  not  as  an  intimate 
friend  of  the  Apostle  Paul's,  but  as  one  well  known 
to  those  whom  he  addresses. 

24,  This  verse,  which  in  A.V.  is  repeated  from 
ver.  20,  is  omitted  in  R.V.,  with  the  explanation 
above  referred  to. 


Rom.  xvi.  25-27. 

8.  THE  DOXOLOGY. 

25  Now  to  him  that  is  of  power  to  stablish  you  according  to 
my  gospel,  and  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  according  to 


376   Westminster  New  Testament 

the  revelation  of  the  mystery,  which  was  kept  secret  since 
26  the  world  began,  but  now  is  made  manifest,  and  by  the 

Scriptures  of  the  prophets,  according  to  the  commandment 

of  the  everlasting  God,  made  known  to  all  nations  for  the 
26  obedience  of  faith  :    to  God  only  wise,  be  glory  through 

Jesus  Christ  for  ever.     Amen. 

On  the  difficulties  regarding  the  history  of  this 
doxology  see  the  Introduction.  As  it  stands,  it 
takes  the  place  of  the  usual  benediction  with  which 
the  Apostle  ends  his  letters.  That  benediction  is 
here  given  (R.V.)  at  ver.  20.  The  doxologies  in 
the  writings  of  St.  Paul  occur  rarely,  and  as  a  rule 
are  brief  (cf.  Rom.  i.  25,  ix.  5,  xi.  36;  Phil, 
iv.  20;  Eph.  iii.  20,  21).  The  last-named  is  the 
longest,  except  the  one  before  us,  and  resembles 
it  more  than  any  of  the  others.  This  passage  is 
remarkable  for  its  diiference  in  style  from  anything 
else  in  the  Pauline  epistles.  It  is  true,  however, 
that  almost  all  the  words  in  it  occur  already  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  its  ideas  are  of  course 
present  throughout  the  preceding  chapters.  Hence, 
if  we  believe  that  he  prepared  this  as  a  special  and 
unusually  elaborate  conclusion  to  what  he  felt  to 
be  an  epistle  of  unusual  importance,  we  must 
imagine  him  going  over  the  main  course  of  his  argu- 
ment, gathering  up  its  significance  in  his  mind,  and 
then  concentrating  that  survey  in  this  act  of 
prayer.  There  are  three  main  thoughts  expressed 
through  its  clauses,  packed  with  meaning:  (1) 
The  power  of  God,  through  the  gospel  which  he 
preaches,  over  human  lives ;  (2)  the  glorious 
origin  and  authority  of  that  gospel  as  God  has 
given  it  to  mankind  ;  (3)  the  glory  of  God  from 
whose  wisdom  it  has  been  given. 


Romans  xvi.  25-27  377 

25.  Now  to  him  that  is  of  power.  R.V., 
"that  is  able."  In  i.  11  the  Apostle  expresses 
his  intense  desire  to  impart  to  the  Roman  Christians 
some  spiritual  gift  that  they  "may  be  established." 
He  here  states  his  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
God  alone  can  do  that  work  directly — the  work, 
namely,  of  establishing  the  souls  of  men.  On 
God's  power  cf.  xiv.  4  ;  Eph.  iii.  20;  2  Tim.  i.  12. 
to  Stablish  you.  This  is  a  strong  and  not 
common  word,  meaning  to  place  or  set  firmly  in 
position.  It  is  used  six  times  by  the  Apostle 
Paul  (cf.  Luke  ix.  51,  xxii.  32;  Acts  xviii.  23; 
1  Thess.  iii.  2,  13).  In  two  passages  (2  Thess. 
ii.  17,  iii.  3)  the  Apostle  speaks  of  God 
establishing  believers,  according  tO  my  gospel 
(cf.  ii.  16 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  8).  The  Apostle  felt  that  the 
gospel  as  he  preached  it  was  given  to  him  by  God 
(the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  was  indeed  written  to 
prove  this).  But  it  was  his  in  an  emphatic  way 
because  he  had  been  compelled  to  defend  it  even 
against  the  other  apostolic  authorities,  who  had 
not  fully  grasped  the  freeness  and  universality  of 
God's  grace  (Gal.  ii.  1-21).  and  the  preaching 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  centre  of  this  gospel  was 
Jesus  Christ,  and  there  was  no  other  way  of 
making  Him  known  as  the  object  of  faith  and  the 
channel  of  righteousness  except  through  preaching. 
Christ  and  His  gospel  are,  as  it  were,  one  fact 
wheresoever  there  is  true  preaching,  according 
to  the  revelation  of  the  mystery.  This  and 
the  following  clauses  set  forth  the  origin  and 
authority  of  that  gospel  and  the  preaching  of  it. 
On  the  word  "mystery"  cf.  xi.  25,  and  see  notes 
in  Commentary  on  Eph,  i.  9,  etc.,  and  Col.  i.  26,  etc. 
In  those  Epistles  this  is  a  ruling  idea.     Evidently 


378   Westminster  New  Testament 

the  discussions  at  Ephesus  had  fastened  the 
Apostle's  attention  upon  it,  for  the  word  was  much 
used  among  certain  non- Christian  thinkers.  But 
for  him  a  mystery  is  not,  as  for  them,  merely  a 
hidden  or  supersensuous  fact  or  experience  to  be 
reached  only  through  mystic  discipline  by  a  few 
rare  spirits.  Its  correlative  terms  in  Paul's  thought 
are  either  "  revelation  "  or  "  Christ  in  you."  The 
supreme  relations  with  God  are  established  through 
the  indwelling  Christ,  and  are  open  to  all  men. 
Here  it  is  the  latter  idea,  the  breadth  of  the 
revelation,  which  is  in  the  foreground,  which  was 
kept  secret  since  the  world  began.  R.V., 
"which  had  been  kept  in  silence  through  times 
eternal."  Here  another  word,  "silence,"  is  used 
which  had  an  important  place  in  some  phases  of 
non-Christian  thought,  and  was  employed  even 
by  some  early  Christian  writers  as  a  name  for 
God.  Beyond  the  pale  of  revelation  it  naturally 
seemed  to  be  an  appropriate  name  for  the  Author 
of  all,  who  had  never  disclosed  Himself.  That 
silence  has  been  broken.  The  mystery  has  become 
a  revelation.  Dr.  Lake's  argument  that  the  word 
is  anti-Pauline  because  Paul  believed  that  God 
had  spoken  in  O.T.  is  not  conclusive.  The  same 
objection  would  apply  to  the  words  "  faith  is  come  " 
(Gal.  iii.  24  after  iii.  6). 

26.  but  now  is  made  manifest.  R. V.,  "  but 
now  is  manifested."  Cf.  iii.  21.  and  by  the 
scriptures  and  the  prophets  .  .  .  made 
known.  The  revelation  was  indeed  made  in 
Christ,  but,  as  we  have  seen  so  often,  the  Apostle 
takes  the  O.T.  scriptures  as  of  Divine  authority. 
But  he  has  changed  the  meaning  of  that  authority 
for  all  Christians  because  he  regards  them  as  rightly 


Romans  xvi.  25-27  379 

interpreted  only  through  and  in  relation  to  Christ 
and  the  gospel.  For  him  they  are  all  prophetic 
writings  ;  even  the  law  had  a  forward  look  in  the 
purpose  of  God^  as  he  has  proved  in  this  Epistle. 
according  to  the  commandment,  etc.  No 
one  would  dare  to  deliver  a  message  so  new  and 
astounding  unless  he  was  sure  that  in  doing  so  he 
obeyed  a  direct  commandment  of  the  eternal  God. 
to  all  nations  for  the  obedience  of  faith. 
R.V.,  '^  unto  all  nations  unto  obedience  of  faith." 
Again  there  is  a  reminiscence  of  important  teachings 
in  the  Epistle,  according  to  which  the  gospel  is 
for  Jew  and  Gentile  alike,  and  according  to  which 
faith  has  become  the  fundamental  law  of  man's 
relationship  with  God,  which  if  a  man  obey  not  he 
defies  God  Himself 

27.  to  God  only  wise.  R.V.  ^^to  the  only 
wise  God."  The  Apostle  returns  now  to  fill  out 
the  pronoun  in  the  opening  words  of  this  doxology 
— "now  unto  Him."  Throughout  he  has  been 
moving  up  to  this  ascription  of  worship.  He 
insists  here  on  his  monotheism^  for  He  is  the  only 
God.  And  only  one  as  wise  as  God  (xi.  SS)  can 
account  for  the  whole  course  of  hi^ory  which  has 
culminated  in  Christ,  and  through  Christ  will 
culminate  in  the  final  salvation  of  men.  be  glory 
through  Jesus  Christ  for  ever.  R.V., "  Through 
Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  the  glory  for  ever ; " 
margin,  "  Some  ancient  authorities  omit  '  to 
whom.'  "  R.V,  gives  the  true  text,  though  gram- 
matically the  more  difficult.  We  have  here 
another  instance  of  the  way  in  which,  for  the  mind 
of  Paul,  the  name  of  Christ  and  the  name  of  God 
were  continually  associated  as  the  objects  of  one 
supreme  faith  and  the  united  possessors  of  the  one 


380   Westminster  New  Testament 

supreme  glory.  The  last  clause,  "  to  whom  be  the 
glory  for  ever/'  probably  fell  from  his  lips  as  a 
familiar  form  (Gal.  i.  5  ;  1  Tim.  iv.  18),  as  if  his 
feelings  prevented  him,  having  named  God  and 
Christ,  from  making  any  distinction  in  relation  to 
the  glory  which  he  ascribes.  Grammar  breaks 
that  adoration  may  have  its  way. 


INDEX 


Abraham,  85,  86,  88,  89, 
9h  93.94,  loi,  103,  113, 
117,  139,  152,  186-199 
(passim),  265. 

Adam,  208  ff, 

Adeney,  W.  F,  {Commentary 
on  Galatians),  14. 

Agabus,  67. 

Allegory,  115. 

Amplias,  366. 

Anathema,  58  f. 

Andronicus,  365. 

Antioch  (in  Syria),  12,  22 ff., 
30,  53,  67,  69,  73,  122. 

Apelles,  367. 

Arabia,  21,  61,  63,  64,  115. 

Aristobulus,  367. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  60. 

Augustine,  St.,  326. 

Bacon,  Benj.  W.  [Commen- 
tary on  Galatians),    1 5  f. , 

25. 
Barnabas,     12,     19,    22,    23, 
24,   26,   32,   52,    67,   73, 

7T- 

Cenchrea,  361  f. 
Church,  360  f. 
Coleridge,  Samuel  T.,  37, 
Corinth,  14. 


Damascus,  61,  62,  63,  64. 

Davidson,  A.  B.,  152. 

Denney,  James  (Expositor's 
Greek  Bible  —  Romans), 
222,  294,  339,  365. 

Dods,  Marcus,  29. 

Domitilla,  366. 

Elijah,  290. 

Epenetus,  365. 

Ephesus,    12,    42,    363,    370, 

377. 
Erastus,  375. 
Eve,  230. 

Gaius,  12,  375. 
Galatia,  identification  and  his- 
tory of,  3-10. 
Paul's  visits  to,  10-13. 
Glover,  T.  R.  159. 
Gnostics,  232,  256. 

Habakkuk,  89. 
Hagar,  113  ff. 
Hastings'  D.B.,  61,  115. 
Hebrews  (Ep.  to)    and    Ro- 
mans, 36. 
Hermas,  369. 
Herodion,  367. 
Horace,  367. 


381 


382 


Index 


Hort,  F.  J.  A.  {The  Christian 
Ecclesia),  66. 

Illyricum,  351. 

Isaac  and  Esau,  264  ff. 

Isaiah,  286. 

"Israelites,"  260,  286,  298 f. 

James  (Ep.  of)  and  Romans, 37. 

James  (the  Lord's  brother),  27, 
31,  32,  52,  65,  71. 

Jerusalem,  1 12,  Ii6f.  ;  Paul's 
visits  to,  17-28,  64-66, 
66-72,  353-360. 

Jessica,  365. 

John  Mark,  1 1,  368. 

Jowett,  Benjamin  (Commen- 
tary on  Galatians,  Ro- 
mans, etc.),  6t,  129,  281, 
306. 

Judaizers,  55. 

Jude  (Ep.  of)  and  Romans,  36. 

Julia,  369. 

Junia,  365. 

Lake,  Dr.  Kirsopp  ( The  Ear- 
lier Epistles  of  St.  Paul), 
16,  17,  28,  40 ff.,  378. 

Letters,  ancient  and  modern, 
50  f. 

Libertines,  34. 

Lightfoot  ( Commentary  on 
Galatians,  Notes  on 
Romans,  etc.),  5,  14,  40, 
42,  56,  63,  80,  83,  97, 
186,  307. 

Luke,  5,  6,  7,  12,  17-27 
{passim),  62,  65. 

Lycaonia,  4,  6,  7,  8,  9. 

Macedonia,  355  f. 
Marcion,  38  f.,  40. 
Mary,  365. 


Meyer,  134. 

Mosaic  Law,  60, 132, 138,210. 

Moses,  267  f.,  280,  285,  293. 

Narcissus,  367. 

Paul  the  Apostle,  8,  ii,  52ff. 
Patrobas,  369. 

Peter  ( i  st.Ep. )  and  Romans,  36. 
Peter,  27,  30,  32,  34,  35,  65, 

71,  T^-So  {passim),  277. 
Pharaoh,  267  f.,  291. 
Phebe,  361  f. 
Phrygia,  4,  6,  7,  8,  9. 
Polycarp,  116. 
Priscaand  Aquila,4l,  42,  363  f. 

Quartus,  375. 

Rabbinism,  93,  1 12. 

Ramsay,  Sir  W.  {Historical 
Commentary  on  Galatians, 
etc.),  2,  6,  7,  10,  II,  65, 
6-],  72,  81,  87,  92,  loi, 
103,  109,  127. 

Rebecca,  264  ff. 

Rome,  33-35,  37,  38,  40,  44, 
45,    46,    142,    147,    294, 

358f-,363ff. 
Rufus,  368. 

Sanday  and  Headlam  {Inter- 
national  Commentary  on 
Romans),  146,  171,  176, 
189,  202,  212,  219,  223, 
226,  246,  277,  322. 

Sarah,  ii3fif.,  194,  195,  265. 

Spam,  353  ff. 

Stachys,  367. 

Stephen,  34. 

Tacitus,  159. 
Tarsus,  65. 


Index 


383 


Tertius,  374. 

ThessalonianEpp.,  14,  15,20. 
Timothy,  12,  31,  69,  374. 
Titus,  23,  67,  68,  69. 
Tryphena,  Tryphosa,  368. 

Urbane,  366. 


Weizsacker    {Apostolic    Age), 

176. 
Winer,  201. 

Zahn,  Theodore  {Handkom- 
mentar  z.  N.  T. — Gal- 
aterbrief),  56,  68. 


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